Anti-Vax Dad Has Been Hiding Girl, 7, for Months

A Canadian woman says she hasn't seen her 7-year-old daughter in two months since the girl's father took her away to prevent her receiving a COVID-19 vaccination, despite two court orders mandating her return. Mariecar Jackson of Regina, Sask., is pleading for help in locating her daughter Sarah, whom she last spoke to on Nov. 21. Sarah's father, Michael Jackson, failed to return the girl after a scheduled visit to his home nearly 200 miles away in mid-November, when the Canadian government approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children ages 5 to 11, reports the CBC. He has since failed to comply with court orders demanding Sarah's return, says Jill Drennan, Mariecar's lawyer. "We've never seen anything quite like this."

No one was home when police visited the father's residence in Carievale, Sask., Drennan says. "We don't believe they are in the community anymore. She could be out of province." The father and daughter appeared on a web-based talk show from an undisclosed location last week, with the father claiming he "had to protect my daughter" from the vaccine. He said her mother wishes to have her vaccinated and has final say on medical issues, per the Washington Post. "Even if there was a one in a million chance that your daughter could, not even die, but maybe there's a one in a million chance she couldn't have a baby, wouldn't that be enough?" he said. The Daily Beast reports he wore a black beanie and sunglasses, and that he was likely the subject of a warrant.

But "I want everybody to see that Sarah's healthy, she's happy," Michael Jackson continued. He then turned the camera on the girl, asking why she didn't want to get the vaccine. "Because it can change your DNA and I don't believe God wants me to. And it can make you sick and kill you," said Sarah, who was last in school on Nov. 16. Contacted by the CBC, Regina police say the court orders on their own do not "provide the verification we would need" for a criminal investigation. Left without another option, Mariecar is appealing for the public's help, while sharing this message for her daughter: "Mommy will never stop looking for you. Mommy loves you so much. Every day, I pray that some day you'll be home." (More Canada stories.)