Ontario mom begs for son’s return 7 months since alleged abduction

A Toronto mother desperate to find her missing son has travelled to Vietnam after he was taken there by his father in February and never returned.

At a playground outside the apartment Heather McArthur shared with her young son, she reflects on the last time they spent playing there together.

It’s been seven months since Jacob was home. His bedroom remains exactly how he left it. His paintings are proudly displayed on the wall. His teddy bear sits on a chair; his favourite bright yellow crane truck parked in the corner. There are a bunch of board books in a mini library. McArthur said Jacob was just starting to learn to read.

He turns four years old on Sept. 14.

“He is one of the most kindhearted, spirited little people that I know. I haven’t seen him now for about seven-and-a-half months, which has been hard,” she said.

Jacob’s father, Loc Phu “Jay” Le, took him to Vietnam in February to supposedly celebrate Lunar New Year as part of a vacation cleared by the courts, McArthur added.

“I expected my son to return on Feb. 15, and on that day, I received a note from the father stating that they weren’t going to be coming back,” she said.

McArthur added she received an email from her former partner stating their son had a rash and required “some sort of prescription” to be administered in Vietnam.

“Then the final note was that Jacob had a follow-up appointment on Feb. 28, which is my birthday, and he would get back to us after that date. That follow-up appointment never occurred and there was no communication,” she said.