The great unanswered question here: how did this abusive father with a history of substance abuse get custody of two young children to begin with? And what happened to the mother of these kids?
Dad is identified as LEONARD L. THORNE.
http://www.ithacajournal.com/story/news/public-safety/2014/12/24/tompkins-children-abducted-suspect-father/20860645/
Enfield father arraigned on abduction charges
Andrew Casler, 12:09 p.m. EST December 25, 2014
ITHACA – Leonard L. Thorne, 38, of Enfield, was arraigned Wednesday for allegedly abducting his two children after losing parental custody, a Tompkins County Sheriff's Office news release said.
Sheriff's Deputies said Thorne abducted the children, ages 2 and 4, around 4 p.m. Tuesday on Heron Drive. He had recently learned of a court order that removed the kids from his custody, and that he had an arrest warrant for child neglect, a news release said.
The Sheriff's Office issued an AMBER Alert for the children on Wednesday morning, and Thorne was found riding a Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit Bus with the children around 1:15 p.m.
A TCAT bus driver identified Thorne from the AMBER Alert, and the driver held the bus on Cornell University's campus while area police converged on the area, a TCAT news release said.
Cornell University Police took Thorne into custody without incident, and the children were unharmed. Tompkins County Department of Social Services has taken custody of the children.
Thorne was arraigned before Tompkins County Court Judge Rowley on Wednesday.
The children had been removed from Thorne's custody due to substance abuse, child abuse and neglect history, according to the Tompkins County Sheriff's Office.