DUBROVNIK, Croatia — The family of four Utah children who were found in a Croatian home after they were reported missing last month is working to bring them home.
"How is this really happening?" said Heather Shelly, who spoke with me from Croatia. "It just seems so surreal all the time. Is this really our life? Are the children really kidnapped? Are we ever going to get them back?"
Shelley is currently in Croatia with her partner, Kenny, who is the father of three of the children. The family was notified earlier this month that the kids were discovered at a children's home in the Balkans, weeks after they were reported missing on Dec. 2.
"It's been a hard… a hard 10 days, 11 days that we've been here. As we were waiting for them to release the children, and to a certain extent, we're grateful that they are careful about things like this," Shelley said.
The Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office was notified on Jan. 16 that Elleshia Anne Seymour, the mother of the children, had been arrested in Dubrovnik, where she was charged with custodial interference for taking the kids from West Jordan and out of the country on a one-way ticket.
Mom of missing kids arrested in Europe:
Since Seymour's arrest, the children have been in Croatian state custody.
"They're essentially trapped in this orphanage," Shelley explained, "and the orphanage is good to them, and it's comforting to know that they're safe, they're warm, and they're fed.
"But kids have a hard time understanding why they can't come home yet."
The families are working through paperwork, translating documents and doing everything they can to get their kids released. FOX 13 News reached out to local police in Dubrovnik, who explained how they could not share much information, which is the department's standard process to protect the children.
"Today, we went outside and played 'Red Light, Green Light,' because it was a warm, sunny day, and we haven't had one of those for a while, so… just anything we can," said Shelley. "We're just playing with them, showing them we love them. And assuring them that we're here until finally we get the go-ahead to take them home."
Shelley said they might not have found the missing kids if not for a teenage boy who was with them and his own mother.
"[The teen's mother] had made contact with another woman from the U.S. who had similar ideology, and they both were thinking, we need to flee the U.S., because it's going to be destroyed," she said.
The family thinks the teen found out the kids had been illegally and told his mother. That somehow led to Seymour's arrest and the children being located, and one step closer to coming home.
"Normal life will seem much more sweet, after having been through something like this," Shelley shared.
The family is unsure how much longer the process to bring the kids home will take, but between airline tickets, hotels, and legal fees, their expenses are mounting, and a GoFundMe page has been created to give those a chance to donate to their efforts.
