A father who believes his daughter was abducted by her mother says he feels let down by the authorities, insisting the country’s borders need to be managed better.

Speaking to the Times of Malta, Andreas Gerdes said despite a border lock in place that should have prevented the girl’s mother, Anika de Vilera, from leaving the island, she somehow still escaped, taking their daughter, Aurelia, with her.

The one-and-a-half-year-old girl, who has had two major surgeries after being diagnosed with congenital hydrocephalus, which creates excess fluid in her brain, was taken away at some point in early March.

“As her father, I tried to prevent it by putting a Maltese court injunction in place, but for some reason, Anika still left Malta.

“I have tried all reasonable measures to prevent this – informing the police of every step I took. I cannot believe how this has developed, and I feel really let down by the authorities,” Mr Gerdes said.

To further fuel his frustration, the German national has also discovered that despite an extension of the Amber Alert Europe system being launched earlier this year in Malta, the police failed to register the girl in the system.

Contacted by the Times of Malta, a spokesman for Amber Alert said that it was only the Maltese police force that could issue the alert.

“Amber Alert Europe is facilitating the technology and provides law enforcement training, however the decision to make use of the system is up to the Malta Police Force,” he said.

No information about why the police had not issued a missing child Amber Alert was forthcoming.

This newspaper also asked the police for information on what action was being taken in light of the fact that Aurelia’s mother had been allowed to leave the country despite a court-ordered border lock.

The police said they would need to seek “clarification” from the Attorney General before replying.

The system, which allows the police to quickly involve the public in the search for missing children, was launched by Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela earlier this year. He insisted that time was of the essence when dealing with abduction cases.

Meanwhile, as he continues trying to locate his daughter, Mr Gerdes wants to ensure that abduction does not happen to any other child.

“If we look at this dispassionately, Malta is a small country, we are not a country in the middle of Europe with borders to five or six countries.

“We can control our border, but I think we’ve failed, and Aurelia has been let down,” the father said.

News reports have said Ms de Vilera has a chequered past, including alleged fraud.

claire.caruana@timesofmalta.com