Two Israeli girls with American citizenship disappeared without a trace on Friday in what police fear could be a divorce dispute-related kidnapping.
The two girls, 12-year-old Sarah and eight-year-old Liva, never visited Israel until a week ago, when they visited their Israeli mother and grandmother in Gedera for a 10-day trip.
However, the girls' father Ofer, who is also a dual Israeli-US national, had his suspicions raised following worrying messages sent by his eldest daughter.
Girls vanish after trip to mother's home in Israel
After arriving in Israel in order to bring the girls back to the US, Ofer discovered that his daughters had vanished without a trace. He soon filed a report to the Israel Police.
Furthermore, a few hours after their disappearance, the mother and girls’ phone numbers appeared to have been disconnected.
When attempting to make contact with the grandmother, the father was told that she was vacationing in Tiberias and had no knowledge of her grandchildren’s whereabouts.
The girls are considered kidnapped as per a Pennsylvania court decision, which approved the 10-day vacation in Israel under strict conditions stating that any violation of the court agreement would be viewed as kidnapping.