246: Fugitive Mom, Dorothy Lee Barnett | USA/Australia
Evidence Locker True Crime
Evidence Locker True Crime
4.6 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 16 November 2025
⏱️ 21 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
For nearly two decades, the pair lived under new identities across the world — first in Europe, then South Africa, then Australia — as authorities searched for clues. In 2013, an international investigation finally uncovered the truth. Dorothy had been living as Alexandria Maria Canton, and Savannah, now a young woman, had grown up unaware of her past.
The case became one of the most remarkable parental abduction stories in modern history — a tale of love, fear, deception, and the long reach of justice.
Listen now to hear the full story of the mother who fled across the world — and the daughter who never knew.
Books:
Read collections of The Evidence Locker Files, available in print and digital editions.
Follow us on: YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok
For more information, visit: Evidence Locker Website
Listen ad-free: Visit our page at Patreon
25% of Evidence Locker Patreon proceeds are donated to support the Doe Network, solving international cold cases. To learn more, visit: https://www.doenetwork.org/
Resources
Documentaries
NBC Dateline: "Finding Savanna"
CBS 48 Hours: "Dear Savanna"
Web
Family Abduction Watch
Articles
Dorothy Lee Barnett: Where is the Kidnapper Today?
Savanna Todd: Where is Dorothy Lee Barnett's Daughter Today?
Woman who kidnapped her own daughter during bitter divorce shares tales of nearly 20 years on the run
48 Hours' to feature baby Savanna abduction from Isle of Palms
Unsolved Mysteries Wiki: Dorothy Barnett Case
Narrated by Noel Vinson
Music: "Nordic Medieval" by Marcus Bressler
Background track: Doblado Studios: https://www.youtube.com/c/DobladoStudios
This True Crime Podcast was researched using open-source or archive materials.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | It was an ordinary Tuesday morning in November of 2013 when 20-year-old Samantha |
| 0:09.3 | Helden-Hais answered the door at her home on Australia's Sunshine Coast. Standing before her were |
| 0:15.2 | officers from the Australian Federal Police, but they weren't looking for Samantha. They were |
| 0:20.7 | looking for her mother, Lee. And they weren't looking for Samantha. They were looking for her mother, |
| 0:21.7 | Lee. And they had some disturbing questions. Are you Savannah Todd? One officer asked. |
| 0:28.6 | Samantha stared at them, confused. I'm sorry, who? What happened next would shatter everything |
| 0:35.1 | Samantha thought she knew about her life, |
| 0:37.8 | her identity, and the woman, who had raised her with unwavering love for 20 years. |
| 0:44.2 | That the woman she called mom had been on the run for nearly two decades. |
| 0:49.3 | That a real name wasn't Samantha Heldon Hes at all. |
| 0:52.7 | It was Savannah, Catherine Todd. And somewhere in America, |
| 0:56.9 | a father had been searching for her since she was just 10 months old. The story that began |
| 1:03.3 | on that sunny Australian morning would unravel one of the longest-running parental abduction |
| 1:07.9 | cases in FBI history. It would reveal a tale of desperate love, |
| 1:13.2 | elaborate deception, |
| 1:14.8 | and a mother who would cross continents |
| 1:16.9 | and forge new identities |
| 1:18.2 | to keep her daughter close. |
| 1:20.9 | But was Lee Barnett a criminal |
| 1:22.5 | who stole a child from her father? |
| 1:24.9 | Or a protective mother |
| 1:26.3 | fleeing from something she couldn't bear. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Evidence Locker True Crime, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Evidence Locker True Crime and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.