Salmon Arm man Davis Lim is pictured with his son Theo at a park in Vancouver in March, 2025.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Facebook/ Davis Lim

Salmon Arm father Davis Lim was the subject of an Amber Alert issued by Vancouver police in mid March when he took his two-year-old son from outside a family care centre on East Broadway while under an interim custody order through the Ministry of Children and Family Development.

The child, Theo, has a medical condition that requires a ventilator but was without a piece of the equipment to make it work. He was located that same day and Lim was taken into custody.

“I was with my daughters going to the centre for a visitation with my son,” Davis told iNFOnews.ca, March 27. “Two previous visitations had been cancelled."

Ministry staff gave him permission because he told them his daughters were with him. Davis and his daughters were sitting in a room waiting to see the boy, but a few minutes later, the visit was cancelled.

“I wanted my two-hour visit so I just grabbed my son and fled," he said.

There was concern for the boy because he didn’t have all of the necessary equipment for his ventilator, according to the Vancouver police Amber Alert.

Davis fled to a nearby park with his kids briefly but noticed people around him were texting on their phones and police cars were driving by. He didn’t want to go to his car because of the police activity around it, so took his children to a nearby cafe where he ordered them drinks and waffles.

“All of a sudden a bunch SWAT came in and surrounded us, they didn’t say anything,” he said.

Davis was loaded into a police car and taken to cells. He was released later that night and charged with child abduction, assault and aggravated assault of a peace officer.

His children were taken into the care of the Ministry of Children and Family Development but his two older children were returned the following day to the friend’s home Davis and his wife were staying at in North Vancouver. He is no longer allowed to see Theo, who remains in the care of the ministry, and has a court hearing scheduled for December for the criminal charges.

The Amber Alert and arrest is the latest incident in a lengthy battle Lim has had with BC Children’s Hospital and the ministry regarding the custody and medical care of his two-year-old son who was born with a genetic disorder called VACTERL or vertebral defects, anal atresia, cardiac defects, tracheo-esophageal fistula, renal anomalies and limb abnormalities.

The condition involves an array of anomalies including esophageal that can make breathing difficult and the boy has been getting treatment at Vancouver hospital since he was born.

Disagreements between Davis and medical staff were ongoing from the onset when the family left the Okanagan to be with close to the baby in spring of 2022, and conflicts eventually led to the removal of parental custody.

In the first year of life, Theo contracted COVID, had surgery to stabilize his trachea, had numerous infections and went into cardiac arrest. He was given medication as part of his treatment.

Throughout Theo’s medical care, the Lim’s advocated for homeopathic approaches and were opposed to the “forced” flu and childhood vaccinations administered, which is part of their religion as Seventh Day Adventists.

A disagreement regarding the placement of a breathing tube in the boy in 2023 sparked a debate that ultimately led to a custody order.

Davis objected to a tracheostomy advised by doctors and filed an injunction application to stop the procedure, according to a Vancouver Sun report. The B.C. Supreme Court application failed and the procedure went ahead because doctors had already applied to the ministry for an interim custody order.

“That unusual move came after Lim tested Theo’s tolerance to go maskless one night after his bath – a time when he usually goes without one anyways,” the article reads. “With a nurse present, Lim says he videotaped Theo maskless for about half an hour. When they were shown the video the next day, doctors insisted Theo was struggling. Lim sees it differently but doctors called in the ministry, claiming he was putting the baby’s health at risk.”

According to Lim’s detailed account of events on SubStack, the ministry and hospital removed custody from he and his wife Riina in March 2023, and they were limited to two, two-hour supervised visits per week.

Davis opposed the order and the matter went to court. He later signed the order under the advice of his lawyer, and he claims he didn't understanding that it gave away the need for parental consent to make medical decisions for his son.

An eight-day court hearing was held in September last year and the judge issued the verdict on Oct. 22 giving custody of Theo to the ministry and removing Davis and Riina as his legal guardians. The boy was discharged from the hospital on Jan. 29 and put into foster care in Vancouver.

Davis has raised concerns about the treatment of his family and son by the ministry and Children’s Hospital on two separate online fundraisers and he recently launched a petition through Change.org.

“While Theo's parents advocate for minimal interventions, are against using unnecessary medications, choose to not vaccinate and would like to follow a protocol to lower their son's tracheostomy pressure and feeding load to see how he would tolerate it, their advocacy and requests have been bulldozed over by the hospital and child welfare without any sensible reasoning,” the first online fundraiser reads.

According to the second online fundraiser launched in February, the family is looking for an affordable place to stay in Vancouver.

“We want to stay close to him as we appeal the unjust verdict, share our story, be part of a class action lawsuit against MCFD and find ways to reform BC Children's Hospital and how they deal with human rights,” reads the post.

The ministry can't comment publicly or confirm involvement with any individual or family, according to an emailed statement to iNFOnews.ca.

“The ministry’s focus is on ensuring the safety and well-being of all children and to support families,” the statement reads. “Removing a child from a parent’s care is always last resort. By law, the ministry may only remove a child if we have reason to believe the child needs protection and is either at risk of immediate danger or no measures are available and adequate to the protect the child.”

The ministry said situations where a child needs protection to receive necessary health care are very rare, and while the ministry’s goal is to keep families together, the priority is the safety and wellbeing of children.

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