As a result, this five‑year‑old girl was kidnapped by her mother. Most recently, she made national news when she simply walked into a Centrelink office, registering, with her experience and testimony a story of trauma, survival, and seeking hope and purpose on the path to normalcy. Her experience shifted from a life devoid of hope, not untroubled and shrouded in terror. Today, she willingly reaches out for support, highlighting the long-lasting effects of childhood abduction and the complexities of family relations.
In 1993, Rose’s life changed drastically. On a freezing winter’s day, her mother Maria had just enough time to throw a few personal belongings into a backpack. Next, she grabbed Rose and sprinted down the stairs, then jumped into their Nissan Bluebird waiting outside. This impulsive escape was rooted in her mother’s claim that she had discovered child pornography materials hidden in her father’s office, leading her to end the relationship. After the split, Rose’s mother became her main caretaker. What should have been a bright beginning to their life together quickly became tumultuous and uncertain.
Rose’s father ran hundreds of ads trying to find his daughter through the years. He called upon members of the media for help, asking them to shine a light on his struggle. Despite clear evidence of psychological harm to the child, the Family Court awarded him visitation, a ruling uncommonly bitterly hated by Rose’s mother. Portraying her husband as an inept father, part of the broken family narrative was her focus on portraying her spouse as a bad father.
Rose ended up moving schools and switched schools often due to her mother’s behavior. She had to re-establish a social circle with each relocation and making friends was especially difficult given the restoration and language barrier. She mainly lived in different share houses, each one paid for cash under the table. In order to hide their true identity and not get caught, Rose’s mother enforced suffocating rules on her daughter. Rose is still haunted by what she remembers as a drawer full of wigs and disguises. To remain under cover, she could only play in parks after dark.
Perhaps the most pernicious aspect was how this upbringing wreaked havoc on her psyche. Rose tells us about some of the horrific actions her mother would take whenever she sensed even an ounce of dissent or insubordination.
“The way my mum reacted, if I ever questioned anything or was in any way insubordinate or didn’t buy into her reality, the consequences were so dire that it was life-threatening.” – Rose
Her mother’s mercurial mood swings ensured that Claudia could never feel safe. Rose spoke movingly of the continued emotional torture she suffered.
“She would scream and shout and berate and go off the handle and be in a frenzied mania of anger, and it would be relentless hours and hours and hours of it … there was no one else for me to turn to.” – Rose
The intensity of her mother’s depression added another layer of complexity to Rose’s childhood. She was all on her own, knowing what her mother was going through but unable to get help for them both.
“Her depression was really intense and very lonely for me, because I knew she needed help and I couldn’t reach out to anyone,” – Rose
Unfortunately, this isolation carried over into all areas of her life. As a child being monitored day and night, Rose was afraid of any misstep in school revealing their truth.
“I was very afraid of misspeaking at school and getting caught in our big lie and outing her.” – Rose
Yet in moments of rebellion against her mother’s paranoia, Rose experienced her mother’s erratic behavior spilling over into harmful territory. One case was brought by a shopkeeper who refused her mother a refund.
“The lady who wouldn’t give her a refund at the dress shop, she rotten-egged her house and collected my poo to throw at her house.” – Rose
Elder recalled how emotional stress increased even more when her mom chose to try and get back at a boy at school she didn’t like.
“She decided that one of the kids at my school, she just really, really hated him. She got me up in the middle of the night and was like, ‘We are going to go and f- – – his house up’.” – Rose
Now at 37 years old, Rose’s history still follows her. She does realize that the psychological effects of her traumatic childhood will follow her for decades, if not the rest of her life.
“There is a real sense of having missed out on growing up like everyone else my age … I … grew up in this cult-like isolated environment,” – Rose
After several years existing as a missing person, Rose eventually had enough.
“I just couldn’t keep being a missing person. I really, really tried, and I just couldn’t. I dreamed of having the opportunity to go overseas or drive a car or just have a bank account,” – Rose
The day she first stepped through the door of her local Centrelink office represented both an end and a start. She became the face of a missing person who had waited many years for justice to come.
“I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m a missing person, and I’ve been missing for 14 years, and I really need help’,” – Rose
Rose’s heartbreaking story exposes the very scary truth about being abducted. It’s about the complex feelings of faith and healing and transformation that accompany doing that work to conquer such trauma. Her father spends every waking minute searching for her. His tireless work inspires us to believe love can thrive even during the storm.
Sarah Wayland, an advocate for children’s rights, shared insights on cases like Rose’s.
“A lot of people say, ‘Well, at least they’re with one of the parents, and they’re probably fine’,” – Sarah Wayland
