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Abandoned girl's mother presumed dead: authorities

This photo was taken on Saturday and released by the Victorian Police of three-year-old Qian Xun Xue who was found abandoned at the Southern Cross train station in Melbourne, Australia. Police in New Zealand have been unable to locate the child's mother, while Australian police are tracking Xue Naiyin, a Chinese-language magazine publisher in New Zealand, who boarded a flight to the US after leaving his daughter. PHOTO: AP

Authorities said yesterday they hold grave fears for the safety of the mother of a three-year-old girl who was abandoned by her father at a train station in Australia during a bizarre flight across at least three countries.

Australian police said they believe Xue Naiyin (薛乃銀), a Chinese-language magazine publisher in New Zealand, boarded a flight to the US after dumping his daughter in Melbourne on Saturday.

Qian Xun Xue (薛倩薰) was found standing alone and confused at the Southern Cross train station, and officials nicknamed her "pumpkin" after the brand of children's clothing she was wearing, until she was identified on Monday.

An international police operation has been piecing together what happened to the girl, whose plight has been front page news in Australia and New Zealand.

Police say Qian and her father left Auckland, New Zealand, -- where the family had lived for the past decade and where Xue, 54, is the director of publishing company the Chinese Times One Group -- last Thursday and flew to Melbourne.

On Saturday, security camera footage showed a man, believed by police to be Xue, leading Qian by the hand through the train station, then leaving her at the foot on an escalator as he ascended, wheeling a suitcase.

Airline records show Xue boarded a flight to Los Angeles about two hours later, police said.

New Zealand police have not been able to trace the girl's mother, Anni Liu (劉安妮), 27, after visiting three addresses in Auckland, and they now hold grave fears for her safety, Detective Inspector Dave Pearson said.

"There are concerns we haven't heard from her at all," Pearson said.

He declined to say if police thought the woman had been killed.

Inspector Brad Shallies of Australia's Victoria state police said US authorities and Interpol had joined the search for Xue, and that many possible explanations remained for his behavior.

"We are not flagging him as a danger at present," Shallies told Australian Broadcasting Corp radio.

The girl was in temporary foster care in Melbourne and is now being looked after by a foster family in Victoria.

"She remains calm and composed, sometimes she spikes in emotions when she wakes up and mum's not there but the carers settle her back into a routine," Shallies said.

It was not immediately known how police identified the girl and her father.
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