Mass. mom, newly adopted daughter stuck in Ukraine

BOSTON (AP/MyFoxBoston.com) - A Massachusetts woman is stuck in the Ukraine after traveling there to bring home her newly adopted daughter.

Christine Caswell-McCarron says she's been in Kiev for three weeks while waiting for a passport for her 11-year-old daughter. She says the Ukrainian government has decided to print new passports, leading to the delay.

McCarron says she's bonded with a number of other American families who are stuck for the same reason. The American parents had requested a meeting with the U.S. Ambassador to the Ukraine Monday, but that meeting did not happen.

U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch tells the Boston Herald he's pushing the State Department to help the Dedham woman get home.

McCarron and her husband finalized the adoption of their new 11-year-old daughter, Kristina, last month. The family says it met Kristina last year through a cultural exchange program for orphans and had her visit at Christmas.

"It seemed to be an unbelievable fit. It was like she already had been our daughter," Michael McCarron told FOX 25's Heather Hegedus.

Christine Caswell-McCarron, who was a television reporter in Boston for many years, said their delayed departure is a huge roadblock they did not see coming.

According to Caswell-McCarron, the Ukraine abruptly stopped printing passports last week, and even though the Ukraine has since started back up, it created a backlog of roughly 160,000 Ukrainians waiting for a passport.

"We'd like some sort of answer if we are going to be among the first passports printed so we can get these kids home," Caswell-McCarron said.

Michael McCarron is holding down the fort in Dedham with the couple's two other children.

The family did not have a timeframe on how long it could take or what it could take to get the ball rolling, but for now they are in a holding pattern.

Cox Media Group