The children, two girls, were aged a little over 6 and 3 _ at the date of the alleged wrongful retention. They had spent the majority of their lives in France. The parents were married. On 13 October 1994 the mother took the children to the United States on vacation. On 1 November she informed the father that she did not intend to return.
On 1 July 1995 the father filed a return application with the French Central Authority. On 17 July the request was forwarded to the United States Central Authority, with receipt being acknowledged the next day.
On 30 January 1996 the State Department forwarded the father’s application to the National Council for Missing and Exploited Children. On 27 March 1996 the father’s application was filed in the District Court.
