SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah mother, who believed she was saving her kids from “the end of times,” is facing federal kidnapping charges after she fled to Croatia with her four children.

Elleshia Anne Seymour, 35, of West Jordan, is accused of traveling to Europe with her four children without court approval or permission from the fathers of the children. On Jan. 28, she was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of international parental kidnapping and passport fraud. She made her initial federal court appearance Monday.

West Jordan police started urgently searching for the four kids in December after Kendall Seymour — father to the three oldest children — realized something was wrong when they didn’t show up to daycare. He had last seen the children a week prior when he dropped them off at school the week of Thanksgiving, which was the start of the mother’s scheduled custody time.

“Seymour did not notify the father of her intent to travel internationally with the children as required by the custody order,” federal prosecutors said.

The father told police he believed Seymour may have taken the children out of the country and forged his signature on the passport applications because he found passport-related envelopes in the trash at her apartment and other evidence that indicated she had left the country.

Elleshia Seymour was charged in 3rd District Court on Dec. 16 with four counts of custodial interference, a third-degree felony. A warrant was issued for her arrest as, according to charging documents, she “recently discussed obtaining passports and leaving the country, expressing concerns about biblical events and the ‘end of times’” with her ex-boyfriend.

Investigators located surveillance footage at the Salt Lake airport showing Seymour and the kids boarding a one-way flight to Croatia with a layover in Amsterdam. In a voicemail to her other ex-husband — the father of the youngest child — she claimed she was in France looking for a permanent residence.

“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,” federal prosecutors said.

Kendall Seymour said he was initially unaware of any of these beliefs and was concerned “she’s not in the right mind.” While there were no signs of the “doomsday” beliefs when they were married, he found a TikTok account where she was posting increasingly extreme religious messages.

With posts titled “Urgent Word,” “Brace Yourself,” “Zombies,” and “US Decimated,” she spoke of darkness consuming America, urged followers to “get provisions,” and warned that Salt Lake City would soon be destroyed. Police said witnesses they spoke to indicated Seymour had “previously suffered from emotional breakdowns and hallucinations.”

On Jan. 16, Seymour was arrested by Croatian authorities. The children were found in a state-run Croatian orphanage.

“It sounds like she met this other American citizen in Croatia under the pretense that she was bringing the kids here legally,” Kendall Seymour said. Once the American citizen living in Croatia heard the news about the children, the police were called, and their mother was taken into custody by Croatian authorities, the father said.

He was then contacted by Croatian police, who were holding the kids in a children’s home in the country. Croatian police at first would not release his children until documentation from the U.S. had been checked and rechecked. He stayed in the country for eight days trying to get them released.

On Feb. 1, he announced on a GoFundMe* that he and the four children were on their way home.

Seymour was extradited to Utah from Croatia on June 12 and was booked into the Davis County Jail. She has a detention hearing scheduled next week in federal court and an initial appearance for the state charges on July 13.

“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.”

*KSL.com does not assure that the money deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, you should consult your own advisers and otherwise proceed at your own risk.

The Utah Jazz are just hours away from the 2026 NBA Draft to determine who will be their franchise’s next cornerstone piece to add into their exciting core with their second-overall pick on the board.

And in the lead-up to the Jazz’s selection, there’s been tons of buzz surrounding who will be the one landing at that No. 2 slot. Between AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, and Cameron Boozer, each has seen various connections to Utah as being the guy they’ll end up with.

However, as we continue to get closer to when the Jazz are on the clock, we’re starting to get some clearer intel on who their selection ultimately might be. And in reality, it might just be a two-man race, rather than three.

Darryn Peterson Remains in the Driver’s Seat at No. 2

ESPN‘s Jeremy Woo recently released his final 2026 mock sorting out how each of the draft’s 60 picks are going to go. When it came to the Jazz, the pick would be none other than Kansas guard Darryn Peterson; someone that Utah has reportedly shown “strong interest” in leading up to the draft.

If Peterson ends up going first to the Washington Wizards, though, AJ Dybantsa seems like the most likely outcome for the Jazz at two.

“Sources say the Jazz have shown strong interest in Peterson throughout the process, and the expectation from rival teams has been that Utah will pick whichever of Peterson or Dybantsa falls to them,” Woo wrote.

“Peterson’s initial decision to only visit Washington was more reflective of his confidence in his security as a top pick and desire to hear his name called first.”

Despite the noise that had surrounding Peterson, his canceled workout, and any possible disinterest in landing with Utah, that buzz has since been shut down in the days leading up to Tuesday night’s first round.

Not only did Peterson confirm he has met with the Jazz before coming to New York following his canceled draft workout, but he also made it clear at Monday’s media day that he’s not dodging any team that’s willing to select him.

That, of course, would include the Jazz. So no worries on that front.

But even if Peterson does end up going ahead of the Jazz’s slot in what would be a surprise pickup for the Wizards at the first pick, Utah’s decision looks like it could be a relatively simple one. BYU’s AJ Dybantsa would be sitting up for grabs, and would be an ideal fit on the wing to Utah’s two-guard spot for the future.

So if Woo’s intel is a sign of anything, it seems like, even with the appeal that might be had in Duke’s Cameron Boozer as a potential option at number two, he’s looking more and more like the odd man out when it comes to being the guy for Utah.

Both Peterson and Dybantsa have a projected ceiling that tops what Boozer brings to the table, and fits better with this current Jazz core as their future two-guard. In a draft where all three prospects are seen as franchise-changing talents, those factors might just be what’s narrowly separated the top two as the targets to watch for Utah.

All of the chatter that’s ensued before the draft surrounding who the Jazz are going to take with their highest pick on the board in over 40 years will officially come to an end Tuesday night. But with the time quickly approaching before that decision becomes final, the writing might be on the wall for who they’ll be landing on.

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SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — Utah law enforcement agencies are increasingly using facial recognition technology to identify criminal suspects, but state law limits its use to specific circumstances and imposes some of the strictest safeguards in the nation.

Under Utah law, facial recognition technology may only be used for certain law enforcement purposes, including felony investigations, violent crimes, threats to human life, and efforts to identify deceased, incapacitated or at-risk individuals.

The technology recently came under scrutiny in the case of Brad Johnston, who faced a felony charge related to the vandalism of an Uber driver’s vehicle after a facial recognition match linked him to the case. Johnston maintained he was not involved.

“The only way I can describe it was just terrifying,” Johnston said.

MORE: Facial recognition AI misidentifies Utah man in felony vandalism case

The match was generated from surveillance video taken from inside the Uber ride, but Johnston insisted investigators had identified the wrong person. After months of court proceedings, the case was ultimately dismissed.

According to the most recently available data, Utah law enforcement agencies submitted 1,191 facial recognition requests between July 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025. Of those, 706 resulted in probable matches, a rate of about 59%.

State law requires all facial recognition requests to be processed through the Utah Department of Public Safety.

Tanner Jensen, chief of investigations for the department, said requests from law enforcement have increased over the past five years.

Jensen said the system will analyze biometric data and measurements and two people manually review each image submitted for comparison. The process results in one of two outcomes: a possible match or no result. Once findings are returned to the requesting agency, the department’s involvement ends.

“If they do both feel like the match is viable, they’ll send that to the officer for further investigation with a disclaimer that this is an investigative lead and not necessarily something that’s part of the evidence,” Jensen said.

Most identifications are generated through comparisons with a driver’s license photographs. Jensen said biometric characteristics remain consistent over time, but human review is still critical.

“You may get a percentage below 90%, but that’s not to indicate that that’s not the individual,” Jensen said. “Or you may get a percentage that’s above 90% and we still don’t feel confident that that would be the individual. It really comes down to the human-in-the-loop aspect.”

Retired Salt Lake City Police Chief Chris Burbank said law enforcement agencies have adapted quickly to emerging technologies, much as they did when body-worn cameras were introduced.

“The technology is just moving so fast and furious,” Burbank said. “One of the things is the availability of AI to analyze a large database.”

Burbank said strong policies must guide the use of technology in policing.

“We need to ensure, again, is this policy sound for the public or is it just good for policing?” he said.

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