HUNTER: Snag lets Durham mom accused of abducting her kids flee again
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The border crossings with the U.S. along the Prairies are sizzling hot in the summer, and ice-cold in the winter.
They are typically lightly manned and can be agonizingly dreary postings. Take the port of entry at Boissevain in sparsely populated southwest Manitoba.
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HUNTER: Snag lets Durham mom accused of abducting her kids flee again Back to video
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The Canada Customs building looks more like a 1970s Hwy. 401 service centre than anything particularly daunting. However, the isolated outposts are a smash hit with drug smugglers, human traffickers and people fleeing the law in both countries.
One of those alleged fugitives is 55-year-old Astrid (sometimes spelled Astryd) Schiller, of Clarington, who was wanted for allegedly abducting her three young children from the Durham Region in December.
According to cops, Schiller — with her boys, Leon, 12, Christopher, 11, and Thomas, 9 — was nabbed on Sunday trying to slip into the U.S. at Bossevain. Her kids were unharmed and taken into care.
Schiller was arrested on an outstanding warrant for child abduction from Durham Regional Police. But, but, but … she was released from custody because the warrant for her arrest did not extend into Manitoba.
Around 1:25 a.m. on Monday, it was reported that the three boys were missing from a home that was caring for them in Forrest, Man. Investigators alleged the children are now with Schiller and say she is driving a white 2018 Mercedes GLC with British Columbia licence plate SJ975W.
The Toronto Sun first wrote about Schiller in January. In a series of phone calls with me, she appeared to have a martyr complex. Schiller was strident, self-righteous, confident in her goodness and obsessed with victimhood.
It was the cops, her ex-husband, the courts, the justice system and crime columnists who were all out to get her.
And she told me emphatically that she had not abducted her children, even though there was a warrant out for her arrest. Cops told the Sun that the investigation was “complex,” but they were anxious to find Schiller.
Before disappearing, Schiller was an outspoken advocate for a slew of theories. Her stridency was noticeable, particularly noting that school boards were engaged in a “demonic war” against Christian values.
Scratch any school board, and you’re certain to find a fanatic, but a “demonic war” is doubtful.
On Facebook, Schiller opined that people who read the Bible and have faith will be guarded by an “army of angels.” Also invoked is the tome beloved of apocalypse enthusiasts: The Book of Revelations, which predicts the world’s demise.
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“This is why I believe that it’s now the time, and it’s in the Book of Revelations guys, go in and read it, it is now the time to stand up,” she darkly stated.
Astrid Schiller no doubt believes she is right. Her feelings, her beliefs, are paramount.
Naser Akbarian, now 71, could see that logic.
On July 11, 1996, he allegedly kidnapped his daughter Nina, 4, from her North York apartment and fled to Iran, his homeland. Neither Akbarian nor Nina have been seen since.
Naser Akbarian believed he knew what was best for his daughter. And, coincidentally, himself.
Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Schiller and her three boys is asked to call the RCMP, their local police department, or Durham police at 905-579-1520.
bhunter@postmedia.com
@HunterTOSun
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