The manual is intended to provide useful guidance for those new to the field of parental kidnapping, and promote statewide uniformity in the handling of these cases by local prosecutors and law enforcement officers. The manual covers both domestic and international child abduction cases, and ranges from the initial investigation of a child abduction case to its resolution at trial or by other, non-criminal means. It is intended to complement the American Prosecutor’s Research Institute manual, Investigation and Prosecution of Parental Abduction (1995), which contains additional information about parental kidnapping. Chapter 1 introduces criminal parental abduction and penal code sections. Chapter 2 provides a model protocol for handling parental abduction cases: a legal mandate for law enforcement and sample agency protocols for parental abduction cases. Chapter 3 presents a mandate on California District Attorneys. Chapter 4 discusses civil statutes related to parental abduction, including procedural requirements and recognition of out-of-State custody decrees. Chapter 5 details investigation procedures. Chapter 6 describes extradition procedures, such as interstate extradition and return of the fugitive. Chapter 7 discusses the practical and philosophical considerations of charging and pretrial issues. Chapter 8 presents trial issues in parental kidnapping cases. Chapter 9 discusses international cases and locating and returning abducted children. Chapter 10 describes what to do with military cases. Chapter 11 describes civil liability in parental kidnapping cases.