Swedish girl on her way home from Cambodia after alleged abduction

Fri, 25 Jul 2008
DPA

Phnom Penh - A 6-year-old Swedish girl allegedly abducted by her father was on her way home after Cambodian police detained the man, a family friend said Friday. Alicia Elfversson had been reported missing on June 4, 2007, after her father, Torgier Nordbo, picked her up for a routine visit to see relatives in Norway, her mother, Maria Elfversson, said in an earlier interview.

Nordbo was later reported as wanted by Interpol for "crimes against children" and kidnapping and tracked to Cambodia. He has extensive business interests in neighbouring Thailand.

Steve Morrish of the anti-trafficking organization Sisha said Friday that mother and daughter had been reunited and immediately left for Sweden.

"The last I heard, her plans were to get straight home as soon as possible," he said.

Nordbo, whom Elfversson has said was Norwegian-born, was awaiting deportation to the child's hometown of Gothenburg, Sweden, to face charges, Cambodian anti-trafficking police said.

Cambodia detains father accused of kidnapping Swedish daughter

Jul 24, 2008
DPA

Phnom Penh - Cambodian police arrested a Norwegian father wanted by Interpol for allegedly kidnapping his daughter a year ago from her home in Sweden, an anti-trafficking official said Thursday.

Interior Ministry anti-trafficking director Bith Kim Hong said Torgeir Nordbo, whose age was not available, had been detained around 200 kilometres north of the capital with his biological daughter Alicia Elfversson, 6, after police were tipped off.

'He had cut the girl's hair and dressed her as a boy and changed her name to Al to try to avoid detection,' Bith Kim Hong said by telephone. 'We are waiting on the papers to send him back to face trial in Sweden.'

Nordbo is wanted in Gothenburg for 'crimes against children' and kidnapping, according to the Interpol website after Alicia went missing on June 4, 2007.

The girl, whom police said appeared to be in good condition, was being kept in a safe place until her mother, Maria Elfversson, who has sole legal custody, could arrive from Sweden to collect her.

Elfversson said in an earlier interview that Nordbo had apparently fled with the girl after picking her up at her Swedish home during a routine visit after expressing anger that her mother had returned to Europe after their breakup.

Nordbo has extensive business interests in Thailand.

Elfversson had praised the Cambodian police in an earlier interview, saying they had made the case a top priority.

Nordbo had moved extensively during his period on the run but had finally been located after a series of tipoffs from neighbors, police said.