Amy Savoie Speaks About Christopher Savoie's "Desperate" Attempt to Reclaim Children from Japan
NEW YORK (CBS) "I don't know if I'll ever see Isaac and Rebecca again," Amy Savoie said, blinking back tears on CBS' The Early Show Wednesday morning.
Photos: Father's Fight to Rescue Children
She's talking about her step-children, who were abducted to Japan by their birth mother, Noriko Savoie, who lost an American custody battle with her ex-husband and Amy Savoie's current husband, Christopher Savoie.
The abduction prompted Christopher Savoie to go to Japan to try to reclaim custody of Isaac, 8, and Rebecca, 6. But his plan went awry. Christopher Savoie grabbed his children while they were on the way to school. His ex-wife immediately called police, who were waiting for him at the American Consulate.
When Christopher saw Japanese police blocking his way to the embassy, he picked up his daughter and made a mad dash for the embassy gates, screaming for them to let him in. They didn't. His son remained frozen in the middle of the street, uncertain what to do.
Now, Christopher Savoie is in a Japanese jail, where he could face a five year prison sentence for what Japan considers a parental kidnapping. Japan does not recognize U.S. custody rulings.
His wife Amy Savoie is home in Tennessee, wondering what will happen next.
"I hope to god that I have him back soon," she told The Early Show's Maggie Rodriguez.
Amy Savoie says that her husband "must have just been desperate" when he grabbed the two children and began running for the consulate gates.
"She [Noriko Savoie] was not letting us speak to them [the children] on the phone," Amy Savoie said. "When he [Christopher Savoie] called the grandparents' house he could hear Isaac crying in the background."
"He was crying, 'I promised my daddy, I promised my daddy.' And he was too sad to talk," Amy Savoie told Rodriguez.
Faced with the heartbreaking reality that she may not see her step-children for years, Amy Savoie said, "We hope that … they will come and find us when they are in their 20s maybe. And come see that we still love them, and that we miss them and that we always wanted to be a part of their lives."