It often starts with routine visitation that begins – routinely. Only the non-custodial parent doesn’t return the child(ren) on time – or late.

And that’s how it happened when an Illinois law enforcement officer and father allegedly abducted his two daughters to a religious colony in the nation of Belize.

Thanks to the unsolved kidnapping catching the interest of TV’s Dr. Phil, the girls are now back home with their custodial mother, according to an article in the East Central Illinois News-Gazette.

The father is reportedly now under a no-contact order and faces criminal charges.

One can’t help but wonder how the many cases that don’t attract such media attention turn out.