Wisconsin Man in Attempted Forced Abortion Case Likely Fled Country 
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
January 1, 2008
Appleton, WI (LifeNews.com) — Wisconsin authorities say they believe a man who allegedly tried to force is girlfriend to have an abortion by spiking her drink with the dangerous mifepristone abortion drug has likely fled the country. Manish Patel may have headed for his native India despite the revocation of his passport.
Late last month, Patel did not check into a day center for those on bond and his attorney hasn’t seen him since the middle of December.
Outagamie County Sheriff’s Department Lt. Chris Proietti says Patel’s wife left for India in late November and he thinks Patel may have followed her.
He told the Appleton Post-Crescent that his office is working with the FBI and U.S. Marshal’s Service to locate Patel and determine if he followed his wife overseas after she came to the U.S. to obtain divorce papers.
Proietti also told the newspaper his office has received an anonymous phone saying Patel is headed to India and to the Indian state of Gujarat where he’s from. However, he said he can’t confirm the tip.
Should authorities locate Patel, Proietti said government officials have to determine whether they American treaties with the Asian nation will allow them to extradite him from India.
“At this point we are trying to see what type of extradition treaties exist between the U.S. and India, if at all,” Proietti said. “We’ve got to see how, if there is any way, to get them back.”
On Monday, Thomas Zoesch, Patel’s lead attorney, told Gannett Wisconsin Newspapers that he hasn’t heard from his client since December 19 and that Patel’s business attorney hasn’t either. Zoesch believes Patel may have skipped town or fled the country.
“I did not learn that he was gone until I got a call from the sheriff’s department on Friday," Zoesch said. “And I talked to his corporate lawyer and he said he has not had any contact with him either."
Former state Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager, who represents Darshana Patel, the victim who shares the same last name but is not married to Manishkumar, said she doesn’t know his whereabouts either.
