'Worst nightmare': Toronto mom pleads for return of son who was allegedly abducted

For the last seven-and-half months, Toronto resident Heather McArthur has been living out what she describes as her “worst nightmare.”

On Feb. 7, her then three-year-old son Jacob along with his father Loc Phu "Jay" Le departed for what was supposed to be a week-long visit to Vietnam to celebrate the Lunar New Year with family, McArthur says.

They were expected to return home on Feb. 15, however McArthur said she later received a message from Le informing her that Jacob had developed a rash and needed a prescription, which would delay their return to Canada until after a doctor’s appointment on Feb. 28.

Since then, McArthur said she’s made countless attempts to speak with Le, whom she shared custody with, but has been unable to reach him and has found that his cellphone number has been reassigned to someone else.

She said that she also hasn’t been able to reach one of his family members, whom had served as a court-appointed liaison.

“So obviously, when there's multiple parties that have cut off communication, you know, that intermediary party is a three-year-old child, you know, that's gets really concerning,” she said.

McArthur said that said she knew in her heart that something wasn’t right leading up to her now-four-year-old son’s trip abroad and did not want to hand him over to his dad as the details about their upcoming trip were unclear to her and communication with him was strained and practically non-existent.

However, on Jan. 31 she said that a judge ordered her to give Jacob to Le and shortly thereafter they left the country for Vietnam.

“I think that whenever we have concerns that regard our intuition, that can be a little bit difficult in court. That's not necessarily something you can go to the court with and sustain, but that was definitely part of the red flags for myself, you know,” she said.

“And then there's lots of other red flags when you look in hindsight about (Jacob’s) behavior, the communication (with Le) prior to the trip, even the communication with his counsel, all of those things really have should have been going really smoothly because they're really just factual information sharing between parents.”

Jacob Le, now 4, was allegedly abducted by his father while in Vietnam earlier this year. (Supplied photo)

McArthur hired private investigator

Shortly after Jacob left for Vietnam, McArthur hired a private investigator there and said she quickly learned that the basic information she’d been given about his whereabouts were incorrect. She said that her son had been spotted in a completely different part of Ho Chi Minh City than where he was supposed to be. The investigator provided her with a photo of him riding on a scooter with two unknown women. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, shoes, or a helmet., she said.

“I thought, ‘This is crazy, but I think that this might be what I have to do,’ and unfortunately, it did, you know, show that the travel details that I had gotten were incorrect, and that's concerning,” said McArthur, who noted that financial constraints prevented her from continuing to retain the private eye.

An photograph taken by a private investigator that is believed to be of Jacob Le, who was allegedly abducted by his father in Vietnam in February 2024. (Supplied photo)

She’s since set up a crowdfunding page to help pay for her efforts to bring her son home.

Global Affairs Canada confirmed to CP24.com that it is aware of the parental abduction of a Canadian child in Vietnam, but noted that the nation is not a signatory to an international convention that helps to resolve cross-border custody disputes.

“Consular officials are in contact with local authorities and are providing consular assistance to the family,” spokesperson Kevin Sweet said.

“Child abductions are some of the most difficult consular situations that the Government of Canada responds to and are a profoundly difficult and damaging experience for both the children and their families.”

McArthur said the situation has been made even more challenging by the fact that Vietnam does not have similar parental abduction laws in place as Canada.

“And so it becomes a really complicated legal matter that takes cooperation from both sides,” she said.

“It's been a lot to learn and it's been scary to know that, you know. These situations are hard and they take a long time to resolve and, you know, there's a potential that it could be a long time before I do see it Jacob again, which is really hard.”

McArthur said has taken things day-by-day and leaned on her family and friends for support since Jacob’s disappearance.

Toronto resident Heather McArthur with her now-four-year-old Son, Jacob Le. (Supplied photo)

In early April, McArthur decided to travel Vietnam to try to find her son herself. At that time, she also met with the Canadian consulate and hired lawyers to help her understand her rights and build a legal case.

“(What has happened) is especially difficult because it's such a young child and I know that even the government and the consulate and the feedback that I got from authorities in Vietnam was that people were pretty uncomfortable with the case, especially with the child being so young, and me being the mother,” she said.

“It's unbelievable, it really is. It just feels unbelievable a lot of days.”

McArthur returned to Canada earlier this month to regroup and consider her next steps.

“I'm here sort of hoping I can work with the government and work further down different avenues to reunite with Jacob. … My plan is to kind of push the case a little bit more forward here with the government and then hopefully return to Vietnam to retrieve Jacob at some point,” she said.

“But right now, my main focus is working on bringing Jacob home and doing everything that I can to share his story and hopefully make sure that one other child maybe this doesn't occur because of Jacob's story.”

Warrant was issued for father in May

A media officer from Toronto police told CP24.com this week that there is no update on the case and that Le is still wanted on a Canada-wide warrant for abduction in contravention of custody order that was first issued in May.

He is described by police as five-foot-ten and 190 pounds with short black hair.

Anyone with further information is asked to contact Toronto police at 416-808-5100 or Crime Stoppers anonymously.

CP24.com has reached out to Le’s legal counsel, Normandin Chris LLP, for comment, but we have not heard back.