The U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) in Northern Ohio, along with the Canton Police Department and U.S. State Department, found two missing children in Reykjavik, Iceland, on Jan. 10, according to U.S. Marshals.
Authorities say an 8-year-old and a 9-year-old were reported missing to Canton police by family members on Oct. 25, 2024. The CPD started investigating where the children were located.
The report indicated the 34-year-old mother of the two children stopped taking her mental health medication, abandoned her apartment, and the kids stopped attending school, USMS said.
Canton police later requested assistance from the U.S. Marshals Missing Child Unit in Cleveland, which led to a dual investigation.
Investigators explained that the mother had rented a car and was traced all over the country: from a cell phone pinging in Syracuse, a bank card being used in Oregon and a phone call from New Hampshire.
According to authorities, the children were then tracked to Denver, CO. As the case intensified, investigators found that the three traveled to London, England, followed by the Island of Jersey in the English Channel.
U.S. Marshals say they then traveled to a remote fishing village in Iceland and were located by Icelandic Police at a hotel in Reykjavik.
"Icelandic officials were kind of keeping track of them and their location until we could get the proper court orders for them to be able to take the children into custody," Captain John Bosley with Canton Police said.
"Sometimes we’re able to find [missing children] in a couple hours, a couple days, sometimes a couple counties over, a couple states over, but this is the first time we’ve been able to find missing kids as far away as Iceland," U.S. Marshal Pete Elliott explained.
Officials say the two kids were placed in the care of Iceland social services until a trusted family member could get them, while their mother was placed in a hospital where she will stay until she is well enough to travel back to the U.S.
"In my almost 27 years of being in law enforcement, I've never had a case or been associated with a case like this, where you have multiple jurisdictions involved, multiple locations throughout our country, and then obviously other countries as well," Bosley added.
“The collaboration of effort in this case can’t be understated. The ability to respond and recover these children abroad is an extremely difficult task," said Elliott. "Our investigators did an outstanding job. We are lucky to have such strong and dedicated law enforcement partners, and credit should be given to them for helping bring these children home.”
USMS says anyone with information concerning a wanted fugitive can contact the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force at 1-866-4WANTED (1-866-492-6833) or submit a web tip.
