Utah Woman Extradited to U.S. from Croatia to Face International Parental Kidnapping and Passport Fraud Charges in the District of Utah

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - A Utah woman is in federal custody in Salt Lake City after she was extradited on June 12, 2026, to the United States from Croatia after being charged in a federal indictment with international parental kidnapping and passport fraud.

Elleshia Anne Seymour, 35, of West Jordan, Utah, allegedly traveled to Europe, and to Croatia with her four biological children without the children's fathers' knowledge or court approval. She was indicted on January 28, 2026, and an arrest warrant was issued for Seymour. On January 16, Croatian authorities notified FBI they located Seymour and the children in Croatia. The four children were recovered and returned to their fathers in the United States. On January 17, 2026, Seymour was arrested in Croatia. She appeared in federal court for her initial appearance on the indictment on June 22, 2026. Her detention hearing is scheduled for July 1, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. in courtroom 8.4 before a U.S. Magistrate Judge at the Orrin G. Hatch United States District Courthouse in downtown Salt Lake City.

According to court documents, on November 29, 2026 through January 16, 2026, Seymour removed her four children from the United States with the intent to obstruct the lawful exercise of the parental rights of the children's fathers. Seymour and the children's fathers shared joint custody in an order by the Utah state court. On December 2, 2025, West Jordan Police officers responded to a request from Seymour's co-worker for a welfare check for Seymour's residence. The responding officer found the apartment unlocked and, after making entry, determined that no one was present. The officer attempted to contact Seymour by telephone but was unsuccessful. On December 3, 2025, Seymour's former husband and the biological father of three of the children reported to police that he last saw the children on November 24, 2025, when he dropped them off at school. Seymour did not notify the father of her intent to travel internationally with the children as required by the custody order. The father reported to law enforcement he had no contact from Seymour since November 23, 2025. The three children's father further believed Seymour was out of the country and forged his signature on passport applications for the three children after he found opened passport-related envelopes for the children inside the trash in Seymour's apartment, found she had deleted her social media accounts, and found other evidence indicating she left the country.

As alleged in court documents, Seymour's second ex-husband and father to the fourth child told law enforcement he signed paperwork for his child's passport but was not informed Seymour intended to leave the country. The last he heard from Seymour was via voicemail on December 2, 2025, and Seymour said she was in France with the children, when in fact she was not. Seymour reminded him she had to get the children out of the country because the "end time is coming." Seymour allegedly told her ex-husband and father of the fourth child she wanted him to join them and asked him not to let the three children's father know where she was. Both ex-husbands described Seymour as a "Doomsdayer," a person who believes in the imminent destruction of the United States and eventually the world.

"The safe return of the children remains our highest priority. We are deeply grateful to our federal and international partners for their tireless efforts in bringing about this successful outcome," said U.S. Attorney Melissa Holyoak for the District of Utah. "Our work is not finished-we will continue to pursue justice in the case against Seymour."

"International parental kidnappings can have a profound impact on a child's sense of safety and stability," said Special Agent in Charge Robert Bohls of the Salt Lake City FBI. "We are grateful the children in this case were safely returned home through the extensive reach, resources, and collaborative efforts of the FBI and our law enforcement partners."

The case is being investigated by the FBI Salt Lake City Field Office. Valuable assistance was provided by West Jordan Police Department, Salt Lake City Airport Police, INTERPOL, and the Justice Department's Office of International Affairs, the Ministry of Justice of Croatia, and Croatian authorities.

Assistant United States Attorney Carlos A. Esqueda for the District of Utah is prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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