Missing Utah children located in a Croatian orphanage, family members say
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WEST JORDAN, Utah — Four children who disappeared with their mother in November, after she posted a series of apocalyptic messages on social media, have been located in Croatia, according to family members.
Elleshia Seymour, 35, disappeared with her children — Landon Hal Seymour, 11; Levi Parker Seymour, 8; Hazel Rae Seymour, 7; and Jacob Kurt Brady, 3 — following an extended visit with them over the Thanksgiving holiday, according to West Jordan police. They were later seen on surveillance video at Salt Lake City International Airport boarding a plane for Europe.
The children’s exact location remained a mystery for weeks, but an update made Sunday on the GoFundMe page created by the family says they have been located in Croatia.
“The kids are trapped in Croatia in a state-run orphanage. We are in the country, trying to get the kids out of the custody of the local government,” the update reads.
Further details about how they were found or why they are in an orphanage were not immediately available. Elleshia Seymour’s location was not mentioned, either.
The GoFundMe page says family members are trying to raise more money to hire lawyers and translators to help them navigate the Croatian legal system and regain custody of the children from the government.
In early January, Kendall Seymour, father to three of the children, spoke with Nate Eaton on “Courtroom Insider” about the search. Seymour said he learned his children were missing in a phone call from their babysitter.
“She was in a panic and just said, you know, ‘Your — Kenny, I think your kids are missing,'” he told Eaton. “And at first I thought she was just being, you know, a little paranoid, but the more she talked the more I was like, ‘This is, this is serious.'”
He said he contacted West Jordan police and his ex-wife’s family members and friends. The children never showed up at daycare, and his ex-wife never returned to work.
Elleshia Seymour reportedly left two notes behind at her home, including a “delusional message from God” promising she’d be “in Italy by Christmas” and a to-do list that involved discarding her phone and buying a prepaid burner phone, according to a statement on the GoFundMe page.
“When we were married, there was nothing like this,” Kendall Seymour said. “We both grew up LDS, or Mormon, … but (there were) none of these beliefs about end times or Salt Lake specifically being destroyed.”
An Endangered Missing Advisory was issued for the children on Dec. 10, and Elleshia Seymour was eventually charged with four counts of felony custodial interference.
In addition to the West Jordan Police Department, the FBI is investigating the disappearance. On Sunday, representatives from both agencies said they could not comment on the case at this time.
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