A 35-year-old Utah woman has been arrested after she allegedly kidnapped her four young children and took them to Europe, convinced that the world was on the brink of ending.
Elleshia Seymour, who is dubbed as the Doomsday mom, was apprehended on January 16, 2026, in Dubrovnik, Croatia, nearly two months after fleeing the United States with her children, prompting a worldwide manhunt.
The children, Landon, 11, Levi, eight, Hazel, seven, and Jacob, three, are currently being held in a state-run orphanage in Croatia.
Elleshia’s ex-husband, Kendall Seymour, has flown to the country to retrieve his children, who were found in the orphanage after a tip from one of the children.
Kendall, who is the father of three of the children, has been working tirelessly to navigate the legal process of securing their release.
He has set up a GoFundMe, and is seeking $100,000 to cover legal costs and therapy for his children following their traumatic ordeal.
"The kids are trapped in Croatia in a state-run orphanage," Kendall wrote in the fundraiser. “We are in the country, trying to get the kids out of the custody of the local government.”
The Dystopian Beliefs Behind the Abduction
The mom's disturbing actions were allegedly influenced by her apocalyptic beliefs, which she shared with the world through a secret TikTok account.
On her platform, she posted several videos about her visions of the "end times," including dreams of an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack that would cause aircraft to crash and disrupt daily life.
According to ABC News, in one video, she claimed that "the Lord is trying to tell people that it's going to be a cold winter".
Seymour’s obsession with these apocalyptic dreams reportedly pushed her to flee the country as she believed the end was near.
According to court documents, a former boyfriend told police that she had discussed obtaining passports and leaving the US.
A notebook found by police listed plans to shred documents, discard phones, and take passports before she disappeared with the children.
The International Search and the Orphanage Discovery
Seymour and her children were last seen in the US in late November 2025 when they boarded a one-way flight from Salt Lake City to Europe, without informing her two ex-husbands.
On December 10, an endangered and missing advisory was issued for the children, prompting a federal investigation. As the search continued, the FBI received tips suggesting that Seymour and the children were in Croatia.
The break in the case came when one of Seymour’s children informed a host family in Croatia about their situation. The child reportedly told the host family: “Hey, search my name, Google my name, you’ll find it.”
This led to the host family contacting authorities, and Elleshia was arrested soon after in Dubrovnik.
Legal and Custodial Battles
Seymour has been charged with four counts of “custodial interference - remove child from state,” a third-degree felony in Utah, the New York Post reported.
While she remains in Croatian custody, the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office is working with federal partners to explore options for extraditing her back to the United States.
The situation is complicated further by the presence of a fifth child, another American, who was reportedly traveling with Seymour and her children.
Kendall has expressed his concerns for the fifth child's situation, and has noted that their case would require even more legal attention.
"The fifth child’s situation is even more difficult than my own kids’ status. We would like to help him as much as possible - his situation is going to need more legal help and strategy than ours," he said in the fundraiser.
As of now, there is no timeline for Seymour’s extradition, and the full legal process remains ongoing.