SALT LAKE CITY — Officials say a Utah mom who allegedly took her children to Europe without the consent of their fathers has been arrested.
Elleshia Anne Seymour, 35, was charged in December with four counts of "Custodial Interference - Remove Child From State," a third-degree felony, by the Salt Lake County District Attorney.
Crime
West Jordan mom charged with fleeing country with her 4 kids
Police say Seymour took her four children on a flight to Amsterdam and then Croatia on Nov. 29. After some time elapsed, officials said the time for her to return her kids to her ex-husbands for visitation "had long since elapsed." Both dads told police that they never agreed to allow her to take their kids out of the state or country.
On Monday, the DA's office confirmed that Seymour was taken into custody on Jan. 16 in Dubrovnik, Croatia.
In addition, one of the dads wrote in a verified GoFundMe that the kids are "trapped in Croatia in a state-run orphanage" and that the family is working to get them home, but it's difficult.
"We have to hire Croatian lawyers who specialize in child abduction, create and submit Hague Convention applications, hire court-approved translators, and extend our stay here by an unknown amount of time. All to work on getting the kids released from government custody," Kendall Seymour wrote.
The Ministry of the Interior for the Croatian Republic of Serbia stated in an email to FOX 13 News that authorities from the U.S. would need to go to the country to verify facts before the children are released.
The statement reads in part, "We also inform you that the father of the children is familiar with the procedure and documentation that must be submitted in order to collect the children.
Given the international element of the case, it is necessary for the competent authorities of the country from which the children came to the Republic of Croatia to conduct the procedure of verifying all relevant facts and circumstances and to make a valid decision on the handover of the children.
Such verification is a standard procedure in cases of international cooperation and serves to ensure the continuity of the protection of the rights of the child."
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