A mum-of-four has been arrested after being charged with kidnapping her children and bringing them to Europe. She claims she was convinced that the world was going to end.
The kids were found at an orphanage in Croatia, and their mother Elleshia Anne Seymour has been apprehended for her crimes.
The Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office confirmed to Fox 13 on Monday (26 January) that the 35-year-old was charged with four counts of 'Custodial Interference - Remove Child From State', a third-degree felony. Elleshia, from Utah, was arrested in Croatia, two months after she is said to have fled the US with her kids and a fifth child.
According to police, Elleshia took her children on a flight to Amsterdam and then Croatia on 29 November, and after officials gave her time to return the children to her ex-husband for visitation, it 'had long since elapsed'.
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She was taken into custody on 16 January in the city of Dubrovnik, say the DA office.
Kendall Seymour, her ex-husband, has since flown out to Croatia to rescue the three children he shared with Elleshia, as well as a fourth child that Elleshia had from a separate union, and another unspecified child, who allegedly travelled with their parent and Elleshia. The dad revealed all the details in a verified GoFundMe, writing that his children are 'trapped in Croatia in a state-run orphanage'.
In the initial post, he explained: "On Sunday Nov 30th, my ex-wife flew to Europe, kidnapping all three of my kids and her fourth child from another dad. We didn't learn until Tuesday Dec 2 that anyone was missing."
Kendall added that 'she forged passport documents for the kids', explaining: "(She) left behind a note dictating a delusional message from God promising her she would be in Italy by Christmas, and a to-do list that mentioned 'shred paperwork, destroy identifying photos, throw away phone, purchase pre-paid phone'.
He added: "We are in the country, trying to get the kids out of the custody of the local government.
"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."
Kendall said that they need to get the 'kids released from government custody', raising their goal to $100,000 (£72,680). He's raised over $36,600 so far (£26,600).
He further explained: "Although we are very happy the original goal was met, this will be entirely consumed by just flights here and back.
"This part of Croatia is the most expensive place to fly to and stay, out of all possible locations we had on our radar."
"There is also a fifth American child in this children’s home," he said of the children in the orphanage, adding: "My children were travelling with him and his mother. The fifth child’s situation is even more difficult than my own kids’ status."
He asked for help with the fifth child, who has remained unnamed, as 'his situation is going to need more legal help and strategy than ours'.
Elleshia had spoken about her doomsday obsession on a secret TikTok account, further explaining her behaviour.
Back on 10 December, the Utah Department of Public Safety issued an endangered and missing advisory for Landon Hal Seymour, 11, Levi Parker Seymour, 8, Hazel Rae Seymour, 7, and Jacob Kurt Brady, 3.
The dates for any potential future court dates or extradition to the US have not yet been revealed.
You can donate to the GoFundMe here.
Topics: Crime, GoFundMe, US News, Parenting, Mental Health
Joshua Nair