A Utah mother is accused of abducting her four young children and taking them to Europe after allegedly expressing fears that the “end times” were approaching, prompting a multi-agency effort to locate the family and return the children to the United States.
Authorities say 35-year-old Elleshia Anne Seymour was captured on surveillance video boarding a one-way Delta Airlines flight to Croatia with her four children at Salt Lake City International Airport on Nov. 30. The flight included a layover in Amsterdam, according to ABC4.
Seymour, who shares partial custody of the children with two ex-husbands, is believed to be somewhere in Europe. Officials became concerned after she failed to show up for work and stopped responding to messages. A welfare check was conducted at her home on Dec. 2, the same day one of the children’s fathers received a voicemail from Seymour stating she was in France and intended to seek permanent residency because she believed catastrophic events were imminent.
One of her ex-husbands, Kendall Seymour, has publicly accused her of abducting the children.
“To put it bluntly, my kids have been abducted overseas by their mother,” he wrote on a GoFundMe page created to help cover travel expenses to retrieve the children.
The four children range in age from 3 to 11. Kendall Seymour is the father of the three oldest: Landon Hal Seymour, 11; Levi Parker Seymour, 8; and Hazel Rae Seymour, 7. The youngest child, Jacob Kurt Brady, 3, has a different father.
On Dec. 10, the Utah Department of Public Safety issued an endangered and missing advisory for the children, identifying Seymour as the suspected abductor. Authorities say she left her vehicle at the airport before leaving the country.
According to Kendall Seymour, his ex-wife may have forged passport documents for the children and left behind a note containing what he described as a religious message, as well as a handwritten list that included instructions to destroy paperwork, dispose of a phone, and purchase a prepaid device.
Seymour has been charged with four counts of custodial interference, a third-degree felony under Utah law. A temporary emergency protective order and a no-bail arrest warrant have been issued.
The FBI is assisting local authorities, and Kendall Seymour hopes the state warrant will be elevated to a federal level, allowing for international law enforcement cooperation through INTERPOL.
He says the fundraiser is intended to allow him to travel to Europe immediately once the children are located, with the goal of reducing trauma.
“My hope is that the kids are found quickly and we can bring them home while they still believe they’re just on a vacation,” he wrote. Any additional funds, he added, would go toward therapy for the children.
A family law attorney told ABC4 that while Seymour faces serious charges, the legal outcome could depend on whether this is a first offense and whether mental health factors are involved.
The priority, authorities and family members say, remains safely locating the children and returning them home.