Chilean girl sought in Paraguay found safe in Argentina after mother's report of irregular removal by father

A two-year-old Chilean girl, who had been sought by authorities in Paraguay after her mother reported her missing and expressed fears she had been taken "irregularly" from the country by her father, was found "safe and sound" in the Argentine city of Resistencia. The Public Ministry of Paraguay confirmed the child's location in Resistencia, Chaco province, stating that national and international search protocols had been activated.

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The important thing is that the girl appeared and is safe and sound.

Cristian Durand of the Chaco Police reported that security cameras captured the girl with her father at a bus terminal in Resistencia. Durand indicated, citing an alert from Paraguayan police, that the child was allegedly taken out of Paraguay "irregularly" by her father, who is also a Chilean national. "The important thing is that the girl appeared and is safe and sound," Durand stated, adding that they arrived on a bus from Clorinda, a city on the border with Paraguay.

The father, who is currently detained at a police station in Argentina, had purchased bus tickets to travel overland to Mendoza province, which borders Chile. The mother had reported her daughter missing on Wednesday, telling police that the father took the child from daycare and failed to return her at the time stipulated by the Justice system, according to local media reports.

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irregular

The girl had been brought to Paraguay by her mother last year but was supposed to return to Chile on January 5, a trip that did not occur, according to the newspaper Última Hora. In connection with the case, the girl's paternal grandmother was detained at Silvio Pettirossi Airport, Paraguay's main airport serving Asunción, as she was preparing to board a flight to Chile.

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a salvo