The application related to a young child, a boy, who was born in Australia in October 2003. The Australian mother and American father met via the Internet early in 2002. The mother flew to America to meet the father in June 2002, returning to Australia in July 2002. She returned to America in September 2002 and the parties married in Arkansas in November 2002. The mother came back to Australia on 8 December 2002 and then returned to live with her husband on 14 January 2003.
The parties travelled to Australia on 30 May 2003, returning to the United States on 14 February 2004, five months after the child was born. Six months later, on 19 July 2004, without the father’s knowledge or consent the mother left Arkansas taking the child with her. She boarded a flight in Los Angeles late on 20 July. The plane did not leave until 21 July and arrived in Melbourne on the morning of 22 July.
The father filed custody proceedings in the Circuit Court of White County, Arkansas on 22 July. On 26 July an ex parte order was made restraining the father and the mother from removing the child from the jurisdiction of the court. On 3 November 2004 the Circuit Court of White County confirmed that it had jurisdiction in the action since the child was resident in Arkansas.
The father submitted a return application to the United States State Department in late June 2005. On 21 July 2005 a return application was filed in the Family Court of Australia at Melbourne.
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