Can ex-GF just disappear with kids?

I have a friend whose ex girlfriend left their two children with him for several months while she was trying to get her life in order. She came by one day to take them to lunch and has never returned. That has been almost 3 months ago now. All this time he has not seen or spoken to his kids. (they are only 3 and 1 years old.) She has called him at work a couple of times onmly to tell him that her family will press harrassment charges if he doesn't quit calling to find her. She refuses to say wherre she is or let him see them. He has tried to go through Child Advocate to say he wants to start paying support in the hopes that he can find her that way, but they say it is up to him to find her, and then once support does start, privacy laws would keep them from disclosing where she is. Shouldn't this be similar to kidnapping or something? Willfully keeping a child from a parent out of pure spite? Is there any law that can help him at least see his children if not try to get custody himself? (By the way, he is in Ohio, and as far as we know, she is probably still in the same state also.)

[Illinois Parent]

Yes, that is illegal. That is, if he is the father named on the birth certificates. If so, then he needs to contact 1 800 THE LOST. That is the number for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. He also needs to file a police report.

If there were no court papers regarding custody, he will also have to file for that. If she is in contact with her family, they will get in contact with her, I'm sure and she will show up for court. Especially when they advise her that if she doesn't, she will be charged with Parental Kidnapping, which is a FEDERAL felony, with sentencing of up to 7 years.

Once she shows up or the kids are found, he will probably be granted sole custody, with her only getting supervised visits because she is a known flight risk.

If he is not on the birth certificates, he is pretty much on his own in finding her. He would probably have to hire a Private Investigator (they are cheaper than most people think and can usually find someone VERY quickly). THEN he will need to get DNA tests to prove he is the father BEFORE he can file for custody, etc. If after the tests prove he is the father, and the mother in all likelihood knew this when she took off, she may still be charged with kidnapping. At the very least, she will be seen as a known flight risk.

Good Luck. There are few things that boil my blood faster than one parent just taking off with the kids. Something that you will probably hear from the NCMEC is that parental kidnapping is almost NEVER about the kids. It is about control, power and manipulation of the other parent. It is also one of the most damaging forms of child abuse