A Christchurch family has grave fears for their intellectually disabled daughter who's now in India, claiming she's been brainwashed by her boyfriend.
They're questioning how 24-year-old Jessica Doody of Christchurch was able to change her name and travel overseas, despite an earlier court ruling that she was naive and vulnerable.
With autism and dyspraxia, Ms Doody has the mental capacity of a young teenager.
"It makes her highly vulnerable, really innocent, very naive," Sarah Doody, Jessica's sister told 1 NEWS.
She went missing from home three weeks ago, days of detective work by sister Sarah tracking her down in India.
She's now there with her boyfriend Gurdeep Singh, who returned last year.
"When I spoke to her it didn't sound like her. It sounds like she's been brainwashed," Sarah said.
Jessica travelled there after changing her name and getting a new passport.
The family had a protective travel ban put in place last year, a judge ruling that Jessica was, "very vulnerable to the influence of unscrupulous predators".
But that ruling expired in May.
"I had a travel ban on her. Yes it had expired, but I thought that would raise alarm bells. How was she able to fly out? Why wasn't there red flags?" Sarah said.
Jessica's father, Craig Doody, is now in India. He was allowed a few minutes with her last night, supervised by local police.
But he was then sent away and doesn't know where she is now.
"The court systems have totally let Jessica down. This loophole is horrific," Mr Doody said.
But the Government says there isn't any loophole.
The Department of Internal Affairs, which issued Jessica her new name and passport, said because the travel ban had ended it was no longer in the system and therefore no alerts would have been triggered.
And there is no need to check on medical status or any disabilities in a passport application, the department said.
Jessica's family feel they've had no support from the authorities.
"Minimal to none. I've done this all myself," Sarah said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade wouldn't comment, citing Jessica's privacy, leaving the Doodys with more questions than answers, and a vulnerable loved one half a world away.
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