Kiwi woman to 'vanish'

A young Kiwi woman is being "vanished" to escape an arranged marriage by her Middle Eastern parents.

The woman – in her early-20s – has hired one of the world's leading privacy experts, New York-based Frank Ahearn, to break free and start a new life.

Sunday News is not disclosing her location, country of origin or other information about her background to avoid tipping off her family.

But Ahearn, author of worldwide best-selling book How To Disappear, said the woman had hired him to escape her "controlling" father.

"She is being forced into an arranged marriage. She doesn't want to do it," Ahearn told Sunday News from America.

"But her father has made it clear to her about the path that she is going to go down.

"We have been talking for about two months now. She has come to the decision, `I have to go, I cannot live like this'. Her father is a very dominating guy – she is ready to go for good." Ahearn said he was completing details of his latest New Zealand client's "exit plan".

Her "fiance" was yet to arrive in New Zealand from the Middle East.

It was not the first time Ahearn had been involved in "vanishing" a woman being forced into an arranged marriage.

"A lot of girls don't want to be involved in these," he said. "But the women don't have a lot of money, they are living in a very restricted-type community.

"The biggest thing when you are packing up and disappearing is how do you survive financially, get a job and not be tracked?'

Ahearn, 47, said he had helped six New Zealand clients "disappear". One was a high-flying Auckland businessman who received threats on his life after a business deal with a "borderline gangster" went sour.

"The guy had taken money from the wrong people and he recently had to pick up and go," Ahearn said.

"The deal was worth about $100,000 – a losing deal – and the investor said, `You are either going to pay me back or I am going to kill you'." Two months ago, the man relocated to a secret location. He has changed his name and found a new vocation.

"This guy had a certain amount of money stashed, he wasn't married, was in his early 30s, didn't own a house but rented an apartment, so he was pretty portable," Ahearn said.

"I am pretty confident they will never be able to track him down. He feels pretty comfortable too."

Ahearn said vigilant use of the internet plus pre-paid mobile phones made it easier for someone who wanted to disappear to operate a relatively normal life, including running a business, without being visible.

"We teach them how they can still communicate with family, friends, how do you get mail, how do you get calls and use the internet," he said.

"If you want to find someone, you are looking for the information they have left behind ... That is where the gold is.

"I know what someone is looking for and make sure there is nothing they can use [to find a client]."

- © Fairfax NZ News