The father, from Queensland, said it was the ‘best news possible’ after federal police found the girls with their mother in NSW town of Taree.
A Queensland father whose twin daughters went missing four years ago has received the “best news possible” after federal police found the girls with their mother in the New South Wales town of Taree.
Isabella and Bronte Watter, then aged seven, were allegedly abducted and taken into hiding by their mother Cassie Watter on 4 April, 2014.
The two were found in with their mother on Friday morning.
“The best news possible today,” their father Michael posted on Facebook. “Girls found. Mother in custody.”
Watter mounted an ongoing media campaign to find the twins, who are now 11.
The children’s grandmother, Heather Doubleday, said she was relieved to hear from her daughter after four years of silence.
“We had a phone call from Cassie saying she was in police custody in Taree. She was found with Bronte and Isabella. Cassie sounded very composed,” Doubleday said.
“It was a bit of a shock but it was just lovely to hear from her.”
Doubleday said she and her husband Arthur are preparing to seek custody of the children.
Australian federal police said the children were recovered after an extensive joint investigation with their Queensland counterparts.
Their mother appeared in Taree local court on Friday where an extradition to Queensland was approved.
“The AFP reminds the public that anyone who is found to be providing support to an abducting parent may themselves be committing a serious offence,” the federal police said in a statement. TG – EP
