Helena Georgette Kikutu De Nogueira Ferrao was four when she and her brother Henrique were last seen in Long Beach, California, on March 12, 2015. The children were taken to Uganda by their mother, Colette Okanya, who was not their custodial parent; they did not return from what was described as a five-week vacation.

A felony warrant for child custody deprivation was issued for Okanya on August 25, 2015, and the Los Angeles Superior Court later awarded full, sole, legal and physical custody of both children to their father, Charles de Nogueira Ferrao. The case is being handled as an international parental kidnapping. Authorities say Okanya may be using the alias Sheila Komuntale.

The Long Beach Police Department and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Child Abduction Unit are involved, and the matter has drawn in federal agencies, Interpol and diplomatic efforts between the United States, the European Union and Uganda. If anyone has information on Helena, Henrique or the whereabouts of Colette Okanya/Sheila Komuntale, please come forward.