Ryleigh Ridland, 10, was embraced on Canadian soil by her new family for the first time Friday upon arriving at the Vancouver airport, ending the protracted legal fight to get her to this country, after the tragic loss of her mother in South Africa.
A four-year legal limbo that stopped a B.C. woman from adopting her great-niece is coming to an end for a South African girl left essentially orphaned after her mother's sudden death. Ryleigh Ridland has been given permission to apply for permanent residency in Canada, which will become her new home.