Cuba turns over couple that fled to communist country

 with kids in tow during large-scale manhunt

Josh and Sharyn Hakken were returned to authorities in Florida to face kidnapping and child neglect charges. The couple is accused of abducting their boys and sailing to Cuba where they were found at Havana’s Hemingway Marina.

Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office

Joshua and Sharyn Hakken were booked into a Florida jail and face several state and federal charges, including child neglect, kidnapping and auto theft.

By Michael Walsh / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Wednesday, April 10, 2013, 6:54 AM

The anti-government parents who sought sanctuary in communist Cuba after kidnapping their children returned to Florida early Wednesday.

The Cuban government turned Josh and Sharyn Hakken, both 34, over to the FBI and the U.S. State Department, who escorted them to the Hillsborough County jail in Tampa where they face several federal and state charges, including kidnapping, child neglect and auto theft.

Meanwhile, their boys Chase, 2, and Cole, 4, will get medical exams and be returned to their maternal grandparents, Bob and Patricia Hauser.

AP

Joshua Hakken was processed for booking into the Hillsbourgh County Jail early Wednesday morning in Florida.

The grandparents got custody of the boys when Louisiana axed the Hakken’s parenting rights earlier this month. Police initially took the children from Josh and Sharyn Hakken when they were busted for drugs and weapons in a Louisiana hotel room. The couple acted bizarrely and spoke ominously about “completing their ultimate journey” and taking a “journey to the Armageddon,” police said.

EARLIER: HAKKENS FOUND IN CUBA MARINA

“Our grandchildren are safe,” Bob Hauser told CNN. He also thanked Cuban authorities “for being so cooperative and returning the kids.”

The U.S. government received “exceptional cooperation from the Cuban government,” authorities said. This collaboration is noteworthy because no extradition treaty exists between the nations and the FBI estimates that about 70 fugitives from U.S. authority live in the island nation.

AP

Sharyn Hakken was processed for booking into the Hillsbourgh County Jail early Wednesday in Florida.

This diplomacy put an end to the large-scale manhunt that erupted after Josh Hakken allegedly tied up his mother-in-law and kidnapped his children in her Toyota Camry, which he abandoned a few blocks away before getting into his black pickup truck.

About three and a half hours later, security cameras recorded Josh and Sharyn Hakken sailing into the Gulf of Mexico from Madeira Beach. The Hakkens arrived in a stormy marina a few miles west of Havana Sunday, said the Cuban foreign ministry in a statement.

RELATED: THE HAKKENS FLEE ON BOAT

They came to port in Havana’s Hemingway Marina where they were identified by a CNN reporter Tuesday. Cuban authorities announced that afternoon that they would turn the family over to the U.S. government.

The state charges Josh and Sharyn Hakken with kidnapping, interference with child custody, child neglect, battery and grand theft auto. Josh Hakken could also face a false imprisonment charge for allegedly tying up his mother-in-law, said the Hillsborough County Sherriff’s Office.

mwalsh@nydailynews.com

Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office

Chase Hakken (l.) and his brother Cole (r.) are thought to have been taken by their father.

HANDOUT/REUTERS

Joshua Hakken (l.) and wife Sharyn Hakken are accused of kidnapping their two young sons in Florida and fleeing with them by boat to Cuba.

.

top of page ^