A British mother who abducted her two sons from their American father has been on the run in the UK for over three months, it can be reported.
Nishika Samaratunga, a 34-year-old British citizen originally from Sri Lanka, is believed to be concealing the whereabouts of her two children, five-year-old Blaine Baier and three-year-old Nathaniel Baier, known as Nate.
The boys were born in the United States and were being cared for by their father, Ben Baier, who lives near Denver, Colorado.
A judge in the US said in April that there was a ‘credible risk’ that Nathaniel (left) and Blaine (right) are in ‘imminent danger’ (Ben Baier/PA)Blaine and Nathaniel visited their mother in the UK in March as part of court-ordered contact following their parents’ divorce but Ms Samaratunga failed to return them to Mr Baier at a UK airport on March 29, and she and the boys have not been located since.
Mr Baier, 43, has begun High Court proceedings to try to secure his sons’ return, with his lawyers raising concerns that the two boys do not appear to be attending school or nursery and are not receiving medical care.
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Mr Baier said: “The collapse of my marriage has been an incredibly trying time, but I never believed that Nishika would abduct Blaine and Nathaniel and then conceal their whereabouts in an effort to keep them from me, uprooting them from their home in Colorado.
“Both our children have autism, and such abrupt changes to their routine are incredibly damaging to their development and health.
“I’m calling for her to do the right thing and return them to me so they can return to their life as normal, and for anyone who knows where they are to help return them to their home.
“I can only pray for their safe return.”
The High Court has allowed the publication of details of the case to help locate the children.
Mr Baier and Ms Samaratunga married in 2020, with Ms Samaratunga moving to the US, but their relationship broke down in 2024.
Ms Samaratunga then applied to a Colorado court to relocate the children to London in August last year but returned to the UK the following month after this was refused.
She made further requests to relocate the children but a Colorado court ordered in October that Mr Baier become their sons’ primary custodial parent.
Ben Baier with Nathaniel (left) and Blaine (right) (Ben Baier/PA)While the Colorado court ordered that the children must remain in the state, it also ordered Mr Baier to take the children to England so they could spend time with Ms Samaratunga, with a first visit taking place between December and January.
But when Mr Baier went to the airport to take his sons back to the US following the second visit in March, Ms Samaratunga failed to return them, in breach of the order of the Colorado court.
The High Court in London has since issued orders against several companies to trace Ms Samaratunga, including JP Morgan Chase, HSBC, Thames Water and the NHS, but no information has become available as to her whereabouts.
Ms Samaratunga has ‘engaged in activities indicating a planned abduction’, a US judge said (Ben Baier/PA)A judge in Colorado also authorised American law enforcement to take custody of the children in April, citing a “credible risk that the children are in imminent danger”.
They added that Ms Samaratunga had “engaged in activities indicating a planned abduction” and had “unilaterally prevented the children’s court-ordered return”.
This meant the children were “presently physically and emotionally endangered”.
Amy Rowe, partner at Hunters Law LLP, representing Mr Baier, said: “The court has rightly recognised the deeply harmful impact of abduction on Blaine and Nathaniel.
“These are two very young, vulnerable children and every day that they remain missing increases the concern for their welfare.
“It is imperative that they are found and returned home safely as soon as possible.”
Those with information concerning Ms Samaratunga and the boys’ whereabouts can contact Amy Rowe or Safina Mitha at Hunters Law confidentially.