CANADA • Valor Heath HOWELL, 10 ~ Grand Forks BC

Boy abducted 7 years ago found in U.S.: police
May 31, 2011

A boy abducted seven years ago in Grand Forks, B.C., has been found with a woman in Chandler, Ariz., police say, according to a published media report.

The child, Valor Heath Howell, now 10, and the woman were located in a Chandler laundromat after police were called about a woman creating a disturbance.


Jamie Howell, 51, is in police custody after being found in Arizona with her son, reports say. (Chandler, Ariz. police)

The woman is believed to be the boy's mother, the report from Phoenix broadcaster KPHO quotes police as saying.

When police arrived and questioned the woman, they found out she is connected to a missing child report and the child with her is the victim, according to the report.

The boy was first reported missing on Dec. 1, 2004, in Grand Forks, which is close to the U.S. border and about 350 kilometres east of Vancouver.

Authorities had reported then that he may be in the company of his mother, Jamie Howell.

Howell, 51, was arrested Sunday by Chandler police on charges of disorderly conduct, the report said.

She remains in custody.

The boy's father, Garrett Taylor, of Kamloops, B.C., posted in a blog dedicated to finding his son that he was granted joint custody in November 2004 by a judge in Grand Forks.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2011/05/31/bc-abducted-child-found.html

Facebook: Find Valor Howell

Dad heads to Arizona for reunion with missing son
June 3, 2011


Garrett Taylor holds his son Valor in a photo
taken before the child vanished.

A Kamloops, B.C., father is travelling to Arizona, where he is expected to reunite with a son allegedly abducted seven years ago by the child's mother.

During a stopover at the Calgary airport Friday, Garrett Taylor said he was anxious to see son Valor Heath Howell again.

"We are going to be a family again, it's going to be really great," said Taylor, who was set to reunite with son on Saturday after missing a connecting flight in Calgary.

"He is concerned about where his toys are, I heard that, so we brought him a lot of toys."

The boy was first reported missing on Dec. 1, 2004, in Grand Forks, B.C., which is close to the U.S. border and about 350 kilometres east of Vancouver.

During the first years the child was missing, Taylor said he fell into a depression.

"It was devastating, it was like a death in the family almost," he said, adding he tried to stay strong for his older daughters. "Every Christmas and birthday that would go by would break your heart."

Son found in a laundromat

His son was discovered on May 29 in a Chandler, Ariz., laundromat after police received a call about a woman creating a disturbance.

When police arrived and questioned the woman, 51-year-old Jamie Howell, they discovered she was connected to a missing child report and the child with her was the victim, according to an Arizona media report.

Howell was arrested on charges of disorderly conduct, the report said.


Jamie Howell, 51, is in police custody in Arizona.
Chandler, Ariz., police

Taylor said he was "floating on cloud nine" when he learned his son had been found and has stayed in touch with social workers in Arizona.

"They said he is doing quite well. He knows I am coming and he is looking forward to seeing me. He remembers my other two daughters – he is quite excited about seeing them. He is a little nervous about seeing me because of the negative things he has heard, but victim services is very good at trying to erase that and build me up."

Taylor, who travelled without his now teenage daughters, said he will follow Valor's lead when it comes to their reunion.

"You just want him to grab him, and hug him and tell him you're his dad and you love him, but social services said – and I agree – that you should take it slow, go at his pace."

Taylor has a room ready for Valor in his Kamloops home and he hopes his son will soon feel comfortable with his sisters, make new friends, go to church and eventually school.

"To any other parents out there looking for their children: Don't give up," said Taylor.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/story/2011/06/03/calgary-arizona-father-son-reunite.html

B.C. boy reunited with family after 7 years missing
June 6, 2011

A B.C. boy who went missing more than seven years ago was reintroduced to his family in a joyful homecoming in Kamloops Monday.
. . .

Ten-year-old Valor Howell was allegedly abducted by his mother Jamie from Grand Forks in 2003.

His father, Garrett Taylor, has been searching for Valor ever since, and his patience was rewarded last week when police arrested Jamie Howell for disorderly conduct at a Laundromat in Chandler, Arizona.

After returning to B.C., Valor met Tyra and Tian Taylor, the older sisters he had almost forgotten.

"It's surprising and really exciting to finally get to see him -- what he looks like all grown up," Tyra said.

Valor has few memories of his B.C. family, but the girls are working to rebuild their relationship.

"We showed him some pictures and he says, ‘The only thing I remember is you walking in the door,'" Tian said.

After years of hiring private detectives and using online resources like Facebook to track down his son, Garrett Taylor is now shifting gears to being Valor's dad again.

"I'm comfortable that it's going to work out. I sense relief in him that he's somewhere safe and secure and stable," he said.

The reunion was nearly delayed over paperwork issues, but Canadian Foreign Affairs officials and child protection workers made sure it was possible. Taylor now has full custody of his son.

Video

http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20110606/bc_valor_howell_reunion_110606/20110606/?hub=BritishColumbiaHome