'Complete again': Calgary father, daughter reunited after alleged overseas abduction
Justin Coutts has been reunited with his eight-year-old daughter Teaghan after almost six months apart.
Canada-wide warrants were issued for the Calgary girl's grandparents after they left for Turkey in July.
Louanne Bass-Hassan and Mostafa Hassan, Teaghan's maternal grandparents, had been co-parenting Teaghan after her mother died.
But when they extended a planned vacation to Ontario, Coutts phoned law enforcement.
In September, he jumped on a plane to Turkey after learning the trio was in Istanbul.
But after months of searching and working with law enforcement, he tells CTV News his optimism was dwindling.
Last week, he received life-changing news.
"It was a huge shock," Coutts said. "I had no contact, no hearing from anybody for six months, and then just all of a sudden I got a letter saying that (Turkish law enforcement has) made contact (with Teaghan's grandparents) and they're wanting to discuss a peaceful resolution of this whole situation."
He believes the promise of a peaceful resolution led the Hassans to play ball. And so, after lengthy lawyer meetings and extended contact, there was a tearful reunion.
"I saw her and I instantly broke down," Coutts said. "She started running and ran straight into my arms and it was the best feeling I could have in my entire life."
Teaghan is now safe with Coutts in an Ankara hotel. The duo is working with the Canadian embassy to gather the correct documents for an emergency passport, which would allow Teagan to take a one-way trip back to Calgary.
"I feel complete again," Coutts said, hugging his daughter. "I was able to wake up and roll over and kiss my daughter and wake her up and make her breakfast like I always have. It made me feel like I was a dad all over again."
Charges are pending against the Hassans in Canada, but no extradition has been ordered.
"On July 8, 2021, Teaghan was abducted by her grandparents and taken to Turkey without her father's permission and contrary to a Court Order," a statement from local law enforcement reads. "The Calgary Police Service will continue to work with several national and international agencies to hold the girl’s grandparents accountable."
Coutts says he can't wait to get home and put the ordeal behind him.
"I promised her a long time ago that if anything ever happened to her – and unfortunately it did – that daddy would come find you."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trudeau calls violence in Montreal 'appalling' as NATO protest continues
Anti-NATO protesters gathered again in Montreal on Saturday to demand Canada withdraw from the alliance, a day after a demonstration organized by different groups resulted in arrests, burned cars and shattered windows.
7 suspects, including 13-year-old, charged following 'violent' home invasion north of Toronto
Seven teenage suspects, including a 13-year-old, have been arrested following a targeted and “violent” home invasion in Vaughan on Friday, police say.
These vascular risks are strongly associated with severe stroke, researchers say
Many risk factors can lead to a stroke, but the magnitude of risk from some of these conditions or behaviours may have a stronger association with severe stroke compared with mild stroke, according to a new study.
Widow of Chinese businessman who was executed for murder can sell her Vancouver house, court rules
A murder in China and a civil lawsuit in B.C. have been preventing the sale of multiple Vancouver homes, but one of them could soon hit the market after a court ruling.
Cher 'shocked' to discover her legal name when she applied to change it
Cher recalls a curious interlude from her rich and many-chaptered history in her new book 'Cher: The Memoir, Part One.'
Black bear killed in self-defence after attack on dog-walker in Maple Ridge, B.C.
A black bear has died following a brawl with a man on a trail in Maple Ridge, B.C.
Retiring? Here's how to switch from saving for your golden years to spending
The last paycheque from a decades-long career arrives next Friday and the nest egg you built during those working years will now turn into a main source of income. It can be a jarring switch from saving for retirement to spending in retirement.
Canadian neurosurgeons seek six patients for Musk's Neuralink brain study
Canadian neurosurgeons in partnership with Elon Musk's Neuralink have regulatory approval to recruit six patients with paralysis willing to have a thousand electrode contacts in their brains.
Police thought this gnome looked out of place. Then they tested it for drugs
During a recent narcotics investigation, Dutch police said they found a garden gnome made of approximately two kilograms of MDMA.