WINNIPEG - The happiest mommy in the world - that's how Emily Cablek describes herself now that she has been reunited with her two children after nearly four years.
Dominic and Abby Maryk went on a court-ordered visit with their father in August, 2008, and never returned.

They were five and seven at the time.

On Friday, the children were found in Guadalajara, Mexico, and reunited with Cablek over the weekend.

Their father, Kevin Douglas Maryk, 41, was arrested, along with his friend and alleged accomplice, Robert Groen, 42.

Another alleged accomplice is still being sought by police, who have issued a Canada-wide warrant for Cody McKay, 23, Kevin Maryk's nephew.

Cablek has asked for privacy but issued a statement read by a representative from the Canadian Centre for Child Protection (CCCP) at a police news conference on Monday.

"I want to thank the Winnipeg police missing persons unit for their amazing persistence and to the Canadian Centre for Child Protection for standing by me and guiding me through the worst 45 months of my life. You all helped me stay strong for the most important moment of my life -- for that, you will always be in my heart and a part of my family. I am the happiest mommy in the world right now. We still have a long road ahead, and I want my children to feel completely safe through it all ... they deserve nothing less."

Mexican law-enforcement agents raided a high-security compound in Guadalajara on Friday and rescued the young siblings.

Abby is now nine and Dominic is 11.

Despite many public pleas for information and updates on the case, the mystery of the children's wereabouts wasn't solved until a neighbour in Guadalajara saw them profiled on a TV crime program and called police.

The living conditions for the children were poor, police said. They didn't attend school or have access to medical attention, said Christy Dzikowicz of the CCCP.

"They weren't allowed out in the light of day," she said.
In an effort to elude police, the children were moved at least five different times, police said.

Maryk and Groen are being held in Mexico City pending extradition.

Maryk is charged with abduction in contravention of a court order and conspiracy to commit an indictable offence, namely child abuction.

Groen is charged with conspiracy.