Since this time, Mathieu-Pierre’s father has been trying to recover and return him to Australia. Mathieu-Pierre is the subject of a Hague Convention Return Order.

The location of Mathieu-Pierre and Christine is unknown, however it is thought they could be residing in France or Belgium.

If you have any information relating to the whereabouts of Mathieu-Pierre or Christine please contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or your local police.

Two men from different cities, from different walks of life, with different interests. But forever bound by the love they share for the same missing little boy, taken from them on that spring evening.

Matthieu-Pierre Michael Etienne Macintosh has not been heard from in years.

He is now 13 years old and still very much alive, investigators believe.

The Australian Federal Police — who continue to actively investigate the case — suspect Matthieu, or Mat, as he’s known, is being held by his mother Christine Etienne somewhere in Europe.

Christine is the ex-partner of both Mike and Chris.

Mike, from Sydney, is Mat’s biological father and Chris, from the Brisbane suburb of Hendra, is considered Mat’s stepfather. The pair consider themselves Mat’s “two dads”.

Despite their differences and the oddity of their relationship, Mike and Chris are “the best of mates”.

They have worked together for the last three-and-a-half years to bring Mat home.

“We’re just two blokes after the same kid,” Chris said.

“Mat got to know Mike as his father and I got to know Mike as a friend. Our main common bond was Mat. I assisted Mike in his fatherhood journey with Mat.”

“My first impressions of Chris were of a friendly person, although I was somewhat wary of him,” Mike added.

“Despite the fact that Chris and I are quite different people, we had common goal in caring for Mat as he grew up,”

Mike met Christine in November 2000 in Thailand. Their relationship blossomed in Australia and Mat was born in April 2004.

But the pressures of working full-time and a new child began to create division in their relationship. Despite attempts to save their marriage, it inadvertently crumbled. However, the pair would share custody for Mat for years to come.

Chris and Christine hit it off almost immediately after Mike and Christine’s relationship had ended in 2006.

Chris and Christine had worked together in Sydney since the time Christine had been pregnant with Mat.

The new couple would eventually move in together and had regular contact with Mike, who would sometimes visit Mat at the home.

“Chris, Mat and I spent increasing time together and our friendship developed to the point where the three of us travelled extensively both here in Australia and abroad,” Mike said.

“Within a couple of years, Mat had become comfortable in having two dads.”

But like Mike and Christine’s relationship, things between Chris and Christine soured.

When their relationship fell apart, Mike and Chris’ friendship continued.

On September 24, 2013, Christine and Mat left for a six-week holiday in Christine’s native France.

They were due to return to Australia on November 2.

The return never came.

Concern overwhelmed Mike and Chris.

Their treasured memories of Mat raced through their mind for days on end.

The time Mike and Mat were playing football in the apartment on a rainy day. That afternoon Mat kept hitting sixes during a game of cricket after school with his mates, as Chris watched on.

Would they ever see him again? Both were determined to ensure they did.

Mike made regular attempts to try and persuade Christine to come home with their son in early 2014.

After months of anguish and nothing to show for it, Mike contacted the International Social Services of Australia in February 2014.

He applied for a court order that would force Christine to bring Mat home under The Hague Convention — an agreement between Australia and other nations to return children to their country of origin.

Following days of his own searching in France, Mike received good news on October 8, 2014, when a French court ruled that Mat be returned to Australia,

But attempts to force Christine to give up her son proved to be hopeless.

Desperate and running out of ideas, Mike turned to a private investigator in 2015 after conducting his own research from his Sydney home.

More recently he has started up Facebook pages to boost the profile of the case overseas.

That’s where he’s had the most success.

“I engaged a well-known child retrieval agent here in Australia who has assisted in establishing and maintaining the two Facebook pages which currently target northern France and southern Belgium,” Mike said.

“The idea behind this marketing is to specifically target certain age groups and demographics to highlight Mat as missing in the aim that someone notices and notifies the authorities.”

It proved to be Mike’s biggest victory since the court result, with hits on the pages earlier this year.

Someone had visited one of the pages several times, sparking suspicion among Mike and Chris that Christine was looking.

The pair believe she may have left France for a town on Belgium’s west coast in recent months, based on the location and number of Facebook page visits.

Mike is yet to find concrete evidence of Christine and Mat’s whereabouts, however.

“Facebook statistics have provided valuable information as to where an interested party generally located, however without intervention by law enforcement agencies, we are unable to drill down and locate an exact address of the interested party,” Mike said.

“The information will however enable me to personally conduct further searches in the towns indicated.”

Last month, the AFP released age-progressed images of several missing children to give the public an idea of what they might look like today. Mat was the poster boy of the new campaign. But sadly, the move is yet to have any impact on the case.

Mike said he may fly to Europe to conduct his own search again someway soon. He misses his bubbly, sporty and intelligent boy everyday.

Until that day, however, he and Chris only want to give strength to other parents going through a similar suffering and raise awareness about parental abduction.

Research shows that more than 90 per cent of the children involved in parental abduction suffer discernible effects on their mental health which impair them as adults.

“The biggest issue faced by the left behind parents is that there appears to be a lack of information on the process to follow and a designated government department to guide one through the process, which is very much required when through such an emotional experience,” Mike said.

“I just would like society to always remember we should not be quick to give in to the most common or socially accepted norms that the mother is better suited to raise a child.”