MUM’S JOY: Return Of Son Taken On Walk By Father 12 Years Ago

Story By:  Ana MarjanovicSub-EditorMichael Leidig, Agency:  Newsflash

A mum has been reunited with her 15-year-old son 12 years after his father took him out for a walk and never came back.

Pavel Kanafin was just three years old when his dad took him away from the family home in Russia to neighbouring Belarus.

He left behind a twin brother who was struggling with cerebral palsy and his mother Lyubov Kanafina.

Pavel Kanafin, 15, (pictured) was abducted by his father when he was three years old in Moscow, Russia. (@lkanafina/Newsflash)

Now the teen and his mum have been reunited after his grandmother brought him to Moscow to get a passport, triggering a missing person alert taken out by his mother in 2013.

Lyubov revealed in a social media post: “On the day my husband took Pasha away, I immediately turned to the police and made a statement about the abduction.

“However, the case officers explained to me that they could not really do anything because the child was taken by his own father.

Pavel Kanafin, 15, who was abducted by his father when he was three years old in Moscow, Russia, was pictured with his grandmother. (@lkanafina/Newsflash)

“The police opened a search case and recommended that I divorce my husband and deprive him of parental rights through the court.

“Only then, according to the law, could they initiate a criminal case and put Pasha on the federal wanted list. So I did.

“All the documents were ready by 2013. The police then opened a criminal case under article 126 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (kidnapping).”

Pavel Kanafin, 15, who was abducted by his father when he was three years old in Moscow, Russia, was pictured with his father Anton Kanafin. (@pkanafin/Newsflash)

When quizzed by police after his reappearance, Pavel told the officers he had been living with his father in the Belarusian capital Minsk.

He said his father had told him about his mother and twin brother but admitted that he did not remember them at all.

He said his grandmother had brought him to Moscow so he could get a Russian passport.

Pavel Kanafin, 15, who was abducted by his father when he was three years old in Moscow, Russia, was pictured with his twin brother Mikhael Kanafin. (@lkanafina/Newsflash)

In an interview, Pavel’s mother said: “For 12 years I did not know if my son was alive at all! His father completely cut off any connection between us!

“We wrote to all authorities, searched everywhere, turned to broadcasts, but all to no avail. Pasha has been found! This is such happiness!

“I immediately rushed there, to the department. We tried to communicate, but Pasha does not know me at all and does not remember me, he is even afraid.

Mikhael Kanafin, 15, (pictured) whose twin brother Pavel Kanafin was abducted by their father when they were three years old in Moscow, Russia. (@lkanafina/Newsflash)

“I decided not to put pressure on or harm the child even more. For the time being, he will stay in a family support centre, where he will be provided with psychological assistance by specialists.

“Now I visit him every day, communication is slowly getting better.”

Pavel remains in the family support centre in the Russian capital, while his father is still apparently a free man in Minsk.

Lyubov Kanafina was pictured with her twin sons Mikhael Kanafin and Pavel Kanafin who was abducted by their father when they were three years old in Moscow, Russia. (Newsflash)

It is unclear if the Russian or Belarusian authorities intend to cooperate to bring him to justice.