"We love her very much," Dumitru Moceanu,  44, said during a news conference at his attorney's office. "And I hope she changes her  mind and comes home -- start training again."

Dominique, 17, filed suit Monday seeking to be declared a legal adult because her father has allegedly squandered the money she has earned as one of the world's top gymnasts.

 Dominique said in an interview Tuesday that her parents have strained their relationship with her by overemphasizing her career and frequently arguing with her.

A judge signed a temporary restraining order Monday, telling the parents, who are  Romanian immigrants, to stay away from Dominique until a hearing Nov. 11.

         The parents' attorney, Katherine Scardino, said Dominique's mother, Camelia, was so
         distraught over her daughter's recent actions that she could not attend the press
         conference.

         "She is physically ill," Scardino said. "She cannot get through five minutes without
         crying."

         Scardino said Camelia Moceanu received the court order to stay away from her
         daughter on Tuesday, the mother's 37th birthday.

         Dumitru Moceanu declined to discuss the details of his financial arrangement with his
         daughter, but did say that a trust fund set up for Dominique in 1996 paid for a gym he
         opened last year at 6120 Louetta.

         He said "all her (Dominique's) money went into building the gym," where he said he
         works 12-14 hours a day, six days a week. He said the gym would not be open if it were
         not surviving financially.

         Moceanu declined to say how much the gym cost. His attorney, Scardino, said this was
         because it was unclear if the gymnast would sue her parents for financial losses if she
         is declared an adult.

         Brian Huggins, a family friend who helped with the gym's construction and is helping
         Dominique hide, said the structure cost about $4 million.

         According to Harris County Appraisal District 1998 records, the building and land have
         total appraised value of $1.03 million, but the value of the land declined from $231,500
         to $185,000 in the last year.

         Dominique agreed to use the trust fund to
         build the gym, her father said. He said she
         will not have access to the trust fund until
         she is 35.

         In addition to the alleged loss of her trust
         fund, Dominique said in her lawsuit that her
         father is selling a line of gymnastics clothing
         called "Unique Sportswear," using her name
         without her permission.

         Dumitru Moceanu said he has not pressured his daughter to pursue gymnastics and
         that he does not argue with her. "What we see in this allegation, it's not her. We don't
         recognize her," he said.

         He said she "has everything a child can possibly have," including a new Mustang
         convertible on her birthday, Sept. 30. He said Dominique asked to trade in her
         Mercedes for the Mustang, and he said, "fine."

         Moceanu said Dominique's new coach, Luminita Miscenco, 26, whom he brought from
         Romania last year to work at the gym, is "99 percent responsible" for what has
         happened.

         Dumitru Moceanu said Miscenco encouraged Dominique to run away because
         Miscenco wanted a house, car and more money. He said he had already doubled her
         salary and "enough is enough."

         In addition to Miscenco, two men have influenced Dominique, Dumitru Moceanu said.
         He stressed that they are not boyfriends. One is Jeff Pudlo, a former coach at the
         Moceanu gym, and the other is Huggins.

         But Dominique, reached at an undisclosed location Wednesday, said she acted of her
         own will and "had to drag" Miscenco with her.

         She said Miscenco is paid $1,300 a month and offered to train Dominique for free.
         Dominique said she makes payments on her car, while her parents paid for their cars in
         cash.

         Pudlo said Tuesday he was fired as a coach Saturday for the same reasons Dumitru
         Moceanu fired Miscenco: helping Dominique understand her situation.

         Dominique said she has tried to talk to her parents about her financial concerns. "Every
         time I tried, it would get loud and he would tell me he would take care of it, I was too
         young to worry about it," she said.

         Huggins said Dumitru Moceanu told Harris County sheriff's deputies Tuesday night
         that his daughter had been kidnapped, many hours after he had been served the
         temporary restraining order. Huggins said deputies went to his Spring home at 10:30
         p.m. Tuesday and threatened to arrest his wife unless she told them where Dominique
         was.

         Huggins said his wife didn't know, but she gave them a phone number for Huggins and
         he eventually cleared the matter up by showing authorities the court documents. He
         said the deputies said they would advise Moceanu of the seriousness of making false
         claims.

         The Sheriff's Department could not verify the events, and Moceanu did not want to
         speak after his news conference

         Dominique Moceanu is the only member of the 1996 U.S. gold medal women's
         gymnastics team still competing in all gymnastics events. She revived her sagging
         career in August by becoming the first non-Russian to win the all-around competition
         in the Goodwill Games.

         Geza Pozsar, who helped train Dominique for many years, said from Minneapolis on
         Wednesday that Miscenco has helped Dominique improve tremendously as a gymnast.
         She said Miscenco called him Saturday "like a distress call, like she was fired," and he
         advised her to call the U.S.A. Gymnastics federation.

         Craig Bonhert, spokesman for the Indianapolis-based U.S.A. Gymnastics, the
         governing body for U.S. athletes competing in the sport, said the organization plans to
         "provide whatever support she (Dominique) feels she may need, but we don't know
         what we can do financially."