Thus, most documentation of early parental child abduction is found in legal debt disclaimers placed as (usually formulaic) ads in newspapers.
One of these, established by William Holt in the New Hampshire Gazette (Portsmouth) on May 9, 1760, describes the father's desire to have his child returned to him and his willingness to cover his wife's debts if this were done.
The Tuthell case supplies a rare exception in that the resolution of the issue was reported in newspapers because the searching parent, Edward B. Tuthell of Monroe, New York, had published an ad (which was reprinted in other newspapers) offering a hefty reward of $300 (a combined tip, with a $200 bonus for locating the two adults and $100 for safely returning the child to the father).
The Public is earnestly requested to apprehend a finished villain,"[4] Mrs. Tuthell had run off on July 3, 1810, with one Charles D. Walsingham, who was wanted for fraud in another matter, taking the 7-month-old baby, Susan.
While the number of international child abductions is small compared to domestic cases, they are often the most difficult to resolve due to the involvement of conflicting national jurisdictions.