Police believe Alan Langdon, due in New Zealand court on charge of illegally taking daughter out of country, is in Australia

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

An arrest warrant has been issued for a man charged with illegally taking his daughter out of New Zealand and sailing to Australia, after he failed to appear in a NZ court.

Alan Langdon, 49, was due to appear in Te Awamutu district court on Wednesday after he allegedly took six-year-old Que on the voyage across the Tasman in a 6m catamaran without permission.

The pair sailed from Kawhia harbour in Waikato on 17 December and turned up in Ulladulla, New South Wales, almost a month later.



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Langdon had said he was originally heading to the Bay of Islands but damage to his rudder and unfavourable weather conditions forced him to make the 2,200km journey across the Tasman sea.

Langdon was in a custody dispute with his former wife, Que’s mother, Ariane Wyler, when they disappeared, prompting widespread searches of the New Zealand coast and sea areas.

A private investigator, Col Chapman, earlier told Radio New Zealand that Wyler had arrived in Australia from Switzerland, and Que was in her care.

NZ police believed the 49-year-old was still in Australia, Detective Sergeant Bill Crowe said, and were liaising with Australian authorities.

A warrant for his arrest was issued on Wednesday after police told the magistrate they had made efforts to serve him with a summons.

“As previously stated, the charge filed against Mr Langdon does not meet extradition requirements so this line of enquiry has not been pursued,” Crowe said.

With Australian Associated Press