By Patrick Condon and Amy Forliti
Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota authorities said Friday they were turning to an international law enforcement agency for help finding a woman and her 13-year-old son on the run from court-ordered cancer treatment for the boy.
Interpol, which coordinates police investigations across national borders, was joining the effort to find Colleen and Daniel Hauser. The FBI and other agencies were already involved.
“We’re putting every effort we can into this,” said Jason Seidl, a sheriff’s deputy in southern Minnesota’s Brown County.
Colleen Hauser and Daniel, who has Hodkgin’s lymphoma, left Minnesota after a court-ordered X-ray on Monday showed his cancer was growing. The most recent confirmed sighting of the pair was Tuesday morning in Southern California. Investigators suspect they might have headed to one of a number of alternative cancer clinics in northern Mexico.
Doctors say Daniel has a cancerous tumor growing in his chest that’s likely to kill him without chemotherapy, but the Hausers prefer natural healing methods inspired by American Indian traditions.
The American Cancer Society estimates there are 35 to 50 clinics in Mexican border towns that attract cancer patients looking for alternatives to traditional U.S. treatment methods. Many of these clinics have offices in the San Diego area that serve as contact points for U.S. patients, who are then referred to clinics in Mexico.
On Thursday, Anthony Hauser appeared before reporters asking his wife to call him and to come home. “If you’re out there, please bring Danny home so we can decide as a family what Danny’s treatment should be,” he said.
Anthony Hauser did not return phone calls seeking comment on Friday.
Brown County has issued a felony warrant for Colleen Hauser’s arrest, which would ease extradition if she is caught in the United States. Authorities have said their options are less clear if the pair is already in Mexico.
At a news conference Thursday, Hoffmann vowed to arrange a safe return for Colleen Hauser without an enforcement action if she shows “a good faith effort to come back.”
Philip Elbert, the court-appointed attorney for Daniel, said Friday he hadn’t heard from his client.