"We have to determine where the criminal line has been crossed," he said. "The system is not working well at all."

Sometime in November or December, Bjarnson guesses, is when her estranged husband took her children out of state. He was not heard from again until December when officials received a report that Brown was in New York and twice tried to cross the boarder into Canada. The first time he didn't have any of the proper paperwork and was denied. The second time, he presented paperwork, but for whatever reason the customs agent did not believe it was real and again denied him access, said Salt Lake County Sheriff's Lt. Don Hutson. Officials then contacted Bjarnson to tell her what had happened.

"Thank you to the border police patrol who didn't let him cross," Bjarnson said emphatically Wednesday while appearing to hold back tears.

Once officials found out Brown was out of state and trying to cross national borders, a felony warrant was issued for his arrest which put him on NCIC, the national computer database all police officers use.

Tuesday, two people called police in Lancaster, Pa., to report two small children and a man walking along the road in the cold. Police located the group and the man refused to give his name or identify the children, according to East Lampeter Township police. Once he was identified, he was arrested and the children taken into protective custody.

Brown was found in Amish country, which Bjarnson doesn't believe was an accident. Her estranged husband wanted to "stay away from technology" so he couldn't be found, had a "hard time" being around normal society and was a "very independent individual," she said.

"He planned to live off the land."

Police say the family was living in an established structure and not in a tent or temporary shelter, but did not know many more details Wednesday.

Bjarnson hopes to be reunited with her children later this week, although she said she was concerned about the psychological trauma on her children because of what she expected Brown had been telling them about her.

"My biggest concern I have is for them," she said. "I'm really scared stiff to tell you the truth."

Bjarnson believes the father told the children they "didn't have a mom now."

But when she does see them for the first time, she said she was going to "say a prayer of Thanksgiving and give them the biggest hug they can imagine."

Winder said to help other people involved in custodial disputes, he planned to post the criteria for when a custodial dispute crosses the line and becomes a criminal matter on the sheriff's office Web site.

E-MAIL: preavy@desnews.com