WESTERN BUREAU – Relatives of Nareen Krainz (nee Beckford) were Tuesday still in awe after learning that she was being sought by local and international law enforcement agencies for allegedly kidnapping her seven year old daughter, Ebony Zurich Krainz, and taking her out of Germany.

Both mother and daughter are thought to be in the island.

Last month, after failing to locate Nareen, a Jamaican court issued an order for the young woman’s parents to hand over the child. When the Observer spoke with Nareen’s father, Glendon Beckford, at his Stewart Castle, Trelawny home Tuesday, he was tightlipped on the matter and would not discuss the whereabouts of his daughter and grandchild.

“As far as I know, the matter is a legal issue,” he said. “It is before the courts and in due course what is to be known will be known.”

Allegations are that on January 10, Nareen, who has been living in Germany for more than 20 years, went to her estranged husband’s home, snatched their daughter and fled the country. Her husband, Hans-Gunter Krainz, had gained custody of the child last October but Nareen had visitation rights.

An associate of the legal firm Gifford, Thompson and Bright, which is representing Ebony’s father, Tuesday described the kidnapping of the young girl as “very sad”.

“The mere fact that this is a child that is very attached to her father and they have both been deprived of each other’s company since January 10 makes the situation very sad,” the associate said. “It is a human situation where there are hurt feelings on both sides.

“The fact that the mother of the child had ample visitation rights in Germany so she could visit the child whenever, makes the situation even more unfair,” the lawyer contended, adding that Hans-Gunter Krainz, who had been in the island since late January, had gone through great expense to find his daughter and was very “cut up about the situation”.

In the mid-1980s Nareen Beckford, a former student of the William Knibb High School in Trelawny, met and later fell in love with Krainz who was living in Jamaica at the time. The two got married shortly afterwards and later migrated to Germany.

The couple made a number of visits to Jamaica to visit friends and relatives. They last vacationed in the island about three years ago.

One family member, who did not want to be named, told the Observer that she was very disappointed when she heard that Nareen’s relationship had gone sour.

“Krainz was a very sociable person and was loved by many; whenever he came to Jamaica he would always visit us,” the family member added.