A Utah mother is accused of abducting her four children and fleeing the United States after allegedly believing that the “end times” were approaching, according to police and court records.
Elleshia Anne Seymour, 35, has been charged with four counts of custodial interference and removing a child from the state, ABC4 Utah reported. Authorities say Seymour took her children — ranging in age from 3 to 11 — and traveled overseas without the knowledge or consent of their fathers, violating a court-ordered custody agreement.
Police with the West Jordan Police Department conducted a welfare check at Seymour’s residence on Dec. 2, after concerns were raised about her whereabouts. Officers found the home unlocked and unoccupied. Investigators said Seymour had not responded to phone calls from a co-worker or a friend since Nov. 29, which is believed to be the day the children were taken.
An endangered and missing advisory was issued by the Utah Department of Public Safety on Dec. 10 for the four children: 11-year-old Landon Seymour, 8-year-old Levi Parker Seymour, 7-year-old Hazel Raye Seymour and 3-year-old Jacob Kurt Brady. Authorities said it is unclear what the children were last seen wearing or exactly where they were last seen.
During their investigation, officers discovered a notebook inside Seymour’s residence that allegedly outlined plans to dispose of documents and phones and to gather passports. Police also said Seymour left a voicemail for one of the children’s fathers claiming that she and the children were in France.
Airport surveillance footage later reviewed by investigators showed Seymour boarding an international flight at Salt Lake City International Airport with her four children on Nov. 29. The one-way trip included a stop in Amsterdam before arriving in Croatia. Her vehicle was later found abandoned in an airport parking lot.
According to police, Seymour told one of the fathers that she took the children because she feared the “end times” were coming and believed she was protecting them. Authorities determined that neither father was aware of her plans and that she appears to have no intention of returning to the United States.
The children’s fathers are now working with authorities as the search continues. Kendall Seymour, the father of three of the children, has launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise money to travel and retrieve the children “wherever they are found.” He said his goal is to minimize trauma by being present as soon as the children are located.
“If we can be there to get them immediately after their mother is arrested, they will feel safer and suffer less uncertainty about what is happening to them,” Kendall Seymour wrote. He added that the funds would also be used for therapy to help the children recover from the ordeal.
Kendall told KSLTV that he had been unaware of his ex-wife’s beliefs until recently, when others alerted him to videos she posted on social media. In the videos, she allegedly claimed that Salt Lake City would be destroyed and that she needed to get the children to safety.
The West Jordan Police Department and the FBI are assisting in the investigation. Authorities continue to urge anyone with information about Seymour’s location or the children’s whereabouts to contact law enforcement immediately.