Garrett, Hunter, Abbey and Kitty Claire Wallace are expected toreturn to Brookhaven today after being away for over a month.

Kristin Wallace, the mother of the four children, left Saturdayafternoon en route to the Dominican Republic to be reunited withher children, said friends at the Episcopal Church of theRedeemer.

The children’s father, Earl “Mutt” Wallace Jr., had taken themto the town of Sosua in the Dominican Republic after picking thechildren up from their mother’s house Feb. 22 for his scheduledweekend visitation.

Mutt Wallace did not return the children to his wife thatSunday, Feb. 24, as ordered by the court and a search beganinvolving the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department and FederalBureau of Investigation.

The search ended Saturday after the FBI tracked the fiveWallaces to the Dominican Republic after learning that Mutt Wallacehad obtained passports and airline tickets to the country.

Mutt Wallace was arrested Saturday by the Dominican RepublicNational Police without incident and the children were taken intocustody of the national police, said a press release from the FBIin Jackson.

He faces a state criminal charge of parental kidnapping and afederal charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, accordingto the FBI.

“The FBI takes these parental kidnapping violations veryseriously and we do everything legally possible to have thechildren returned to their legal parent or guardian as quickly aspossible,” said Ed Worthington, an FBI special agent who washandling the case.