Belel Kandil was eight years old when he was taken from James City County, Virginia, on August 29, 2014. He and his ten-year-old sister Amina were picked up by their father, Ahmed Abdallah Taha Kandil, from their mother’s home during a period of shared custody. Ahmed told their mother, Rebecca Downey, he was taking the children on a short trip — possibly to Toronto — for the Labor Day weekend and promised they would return before school started. That did not happen.

On August 30, 2014, Ahmed and the two children were observed boarding a flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport, with connections through Boryspil, Ukraine, and Ataturk, Turkey. A federal arrest warrant for international parental kidnapping was issued for Ahmed, who is a naturalized U.S. citizen with dual Egyptian citizenship. The children’s mother was granted immediate sole legal custody on September 5, 2014.

Investigators have pursued international leads. Authorities have suggested the children may be in Egypt — Alexandria, Cairo, or Giza — or possibly the Hatay region of Turkey. Age-progressed images have been released for Belel and Amina. If anyone has information about Belel’s whereabouts or contacts in those areas, please share what is known.