The children, a boy and a girl, were 10 and 6 respectively at the date of the alleged wrongful removal. They had lived in both the United States and Mexico. The parents had been married, however the mother disappeared in 1996 and thereafter the father cared for the children alone. The maternal grandparents alleged that the mother had been murdered by the father, but no one had been charged with the mother’s disappearance.
Following the disappearance of the mother, the father moved to Mexico with the children. State contempt orders were issued in both Illinois and Tennessee in respect of various civil proceedings brought by the grandparents following the father’s departure. On 15 June 2000 the maternal grandparents arrived in Mexico to exercise access with the children.
On 21 June they took the children to the United States. On 3 August the father applied for return of the children. On 4 October the trial court granted summary judgment and ordered that the children be returned to Mexico. The maternal grandparents appealed.
