Two young siblings who went missing in Ohio in October were found this month thousands of miles away in Iceland, the U.S. Marshals Service said.
The children, who have not been named, are ages 8 and 9, according to marshals based in northern Ohio. The minors were found by Icelandic police in a hotel in the country’s capital, Reykjavik, on January 10, officers said.
A family member reported the children missing to the cantonal police on October 25. The children’s mother – who also has not been identified – had stopped taking her mental health medication and abandoned her apartment and the children had stopped going to school, police said.
The cantonal police finally requested help from the marshals, according to the press release. The search also benefited from assistance from the US Department of State, Interpol, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and authorities in England and Iceland.
The children’s mother took them to London, the English Channel island of Jersey and a remote fishing village in Iceland before they were found in Reykjavik, officials said.
“The children were placed in the care of Icelandic social services until a trusted family member could retrieve them,” the commissioners said. “The mother has been placed in a hospital where she will remain until she recovers sufficiently to return to the United States”
Canton police could not immediately be contacted Monday afternoon for comment.
Reykjavik is almost 3,000 miles from Canton.
U.S. Marshal Pete Elliott said in a statement that the children would not have been found without the dedicated law enforcement who helped bring them home.
“The collaboration in this matter cannot be underestimated,” he said. “The ability to intervene and recover these children overseas is an extremely difficult task. Our investigators have done an outstanding job. We are fortunate to have such strong and dedicated law enforcement partners and They should be given credit for helping to bring these children home.”
