 She tried to flee the country on foot the same day with two of their three children (the third child, aged 14, was not in Laos), but was detained with $US52,700 cash at the nearby Laos-Thailand border by the head of Lao secret police.Under Lao law, suspects could be held for up to twelve months before charges were laid.The children, Sahra (aged 11) and Nathan Danes (aged 7), were released and with the aid of Australian consular staff, returned to Australia two days later on 25 December 2000 to stay with their grandparents in Brisbane.