Jonathan Mystery 12-year-old boy had not seen mother since April 2004 James Mystery Ex-husband arrested in the Philippines

A Las Vegas woman has been reunited with her 12-year-old son 18 months after his father fled with him to the Philippines.

Shante Mystery traveled to the island nation Saturday to see her son, Jonathan, for the first time since April 19, 2004.

She hopes to return with the boy to Las Vegas later this week, said Stephanie Parker, executive director of Nevada Child Seekers, the nonprofit organizers that helped Mystery with her case.

The reunion came two days after Philippine authorities, acting on information from the FBI, arrested Mystery's ex-husband, James Mystery, 68, in the city of Cebu.

Special agent David Schrom, spokesman for the FBI in Las Vegas, said James Mystery is being held by U.S. authorities on the island of Guam, where he was taken after he agreed to be deported from the Philippines to face a felony charge of violating child custody rights in Nevada.

The man also was charged with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, a federal count that is likely to be dropped. Schrom said such a charge, "very rarely prosecuted," is often filed to allow the FBI to get involved in a case "where there may not be a federal interest otherwise."

Frank Mahoney, a case worker for Nevada Child Seekers, rated the boy's return as "one in a million because it's overseas."

Schrom declined to rate Mahoney's odds but said that when children are taken out of the country, getting them back can be difficult.

Schrom said Shante Mystery benefited from a close professional relationship between the FBI and the Philippine government, one the bureau does not share with some other nations.

"When you have an international kidnapping, you have a lot more complications than you would with a kidnapping in the U.S. We've had instances where we've traced a criminal to a foreign country and that government has said, 'We don't want to assist you, go away,' " Schrom said.

James Mystery had joint custody before he fled with the boy, Mahoney said.

After that, Shante Mystery was awarded full custody.

The coming days and weeks will be difficult for the newly reunited mother and son, Mahoney said.

"It's a double abduction for this kid. What does he understand?" Mahoney said.

"They will be in counseling, hopefully until they can come to be a family again."