After a distressing ordeal, four children from Utah who were reportedly abducted by their mother in a bid to escape what she believed was an approaching apocalypse are finally on their way back home.

Their mother, 35-year-old Elleshia Anne Seymour, ignited an international search last December. Her ex-husband, Kendall Seymour, discovered that she had taken their children—Landon, 11; Levi, 8; Hazel, 7; and Jacob, 3—to Europe to evade the so-called ‘end times.’

During their time in Europe, Seymour and her children stayed with another woman and her teenage son. This woman later realized that they were at the center of a global manhunt.

Elleshia Seymour was eventually apprehended in Croatia, where authorities are holding her on suspicion of violating children’s rights. Meanwhile, her children were temporarily placed in an orphanage in Dubrovnik, caught in a state of legal uncertainty.

Fortunately, the children have since been entrusted back to Kendall’s care. He announced this in an update on a fundraising page he created to support his and his fiancée’s journey to Europe on January 29.

In a joyous update on Sunday, Kendall shared the exciting news: ‘WE ARE TAKING THE KIDS HOME!’

Kendall explained that Social Services in the country informed him and his fiancée, Heather, that they had concluded their investigation into the kidnapping, returned the children’s passports and ‘gave us the go ahead to pick up the kids from the children’s group home in the morning.’

That included Kendall’s children, the three eldest, and Jacob, Elleshia’s child from another marriage, whom Kendall received power of attorney over.

Kendall Seymour, a father-of-three, announced that he is been able to bring his children back home after they were found at an orphanage in Croatia

Kendall is the father of Landon, 11; Levi, eight and Hazel, seven, and has retained the power of attorney for his ex-wife’s other son, Jacob, three

Elleshia Anne Seymour, 35,  (pictured) sparked an international manhunt in December when Kendall realized she had taken her four children to Europe to escape the ‘end times’

‘Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who has helped us locate and fight for these kids,’ Kendall wrote to the nearly 930 people who donated over $57,000. 

‘In no way, shape or form could we have done this without all of you and our amazing network of family and friends. We don’t even know where we would be (or where the kids would be) without you all.’

He added that he and Heather bought some necessities for the orphanage in Croatia, ‘based on what the children have said is needed.

‘We hope to find other ways to give back, not only because they served our kids with love and care, but also to try to improve the lives of those children left behind.’ 

In the meantime, Elleshia remains in custody in Croatia as Salt Lake County District Attorney Sam Gill’s office works with federal authorities to extradite her back to the United States, where she is facing four counts of custodial interference.

Both Kendall and Jacob’s father have said she did not have their permission to take the children overseas and did not even know of Elleshia’s plans until two days after she was spotted leading them through a terminal at Salt Lake City International Airport on November 30.

Kendall said he said had been planning to take their children to Europe until two days after she was spotted leading them through a terminal at Salt Lake City International Airport on November 30. 

As the family then investigated what had happened to their missing children they discovered her fears of the apocalypse based on her social media, evidence found in her home, and statements she made to others, reports ABC4. 

Elleshia was seen on surveillance footage leading her four children through a terminal at Salt Lake City International Airport on November 30

She posted videos on TikTok describing her apocalyptic dreams and urging people to stock up on essentials.

The end times is a Christian view with various interpretations of apocalyptic biblical passages, but many believe it involves a series of cataclysmic events before Jesus returns to Earth.

In one video, she said she dreamed about an electromagnetic pulse attack that caused aircraft to crash, computers to stop working and people to lose access to food, water and heating.

‘The Lord is trying to tell people that it’s going to be a cold winter,’ she warned.

A former boyfriend also told police that Elleshia Seymour had ‘recently discussed obtaining passports and leaving the country, expressing concerns about biblical events and the ‘end of times.’ according to Utah court documents. 

Then, when officers searched her apartment, they found a notebook listing plans to shred documents, discard phones and take passports. 

But Kendall told KSL-TV last month he was completely unaware of his ex-wife’s beliefs. 

Elleshia posted videos on TikTok describing her apocalyptic dreams and urging people to stock up on essentials

‘I didn’t know about any of these ideas of hers until a couple of weeks ago when someone found her TikTok account,’ he said at the time. 

‘She thinks Salt Lake is going to be destroyed and she is trying to get the kids to safety. My only hope is that she is motivated to protect them.’ 

He added: ‘There were no signs of that when we were married or divorced in the last five years.’ 

The family was then left with more questions than answers until the end of January, when they discovered that Elleshia and the children had been staying with a woman and her 13-year-old child, who apparently did not know the mother-of-four was being sought.

But after one of Seymour’s children tipped off the 13-year-old, both Kendall and the other woman – who has since been identified as 49-year-old Lovie McVeigh, of Georgia – were taken into custody and the children were all taken to the orphanage.

”One of my kids told him, “Hey, search my name, Google my name, you´ll find it,”‘ Kendall said. 

Kendall and his fiancée, Heather, are pictured hugging one of the children when they were finally reunited at the end of last month 

Kendall said he and his fiancée, Heather, have donated items to the orphanage in Croatia

The father-of-three has since said the unidentified 13-year-old boy’s ‘situation is even more difficult than my own kids’ status.’

He and McVeigh have been living in Croatia for over a year, fleeing to the European country as McVeigh believed it was the safest place to be during the apocalypse, Douglas Now reports.

She had similar views as Elleshia and relayed the same messages on social media, Saige Cruz, whose father was previously married to McVeigh, told WALB.

Cruz said her former stepmother told the family she would be out of the country for some time, but she did not know where McVeigh was until Elleshia’s story broke and she began doing her own research.

She then noticed the similarities between Seymour’s beliefs and McVeigh’s social media posts and started following the case carefully – particularly after an interview with the aunt of Seymour’s children, in which she mentioned that Elleshia flew to Croatia with her nieces and nephews.

‘During that interview, [the aunt] had mentioned that the woman from Utah was actually with an American originally from Georgia,’ Cruz said. ‘And so from there, I kept watching interviews and kept digging, researching.’

Lovie McVeigh, 49, of Georgia, is now facing child endangerment charges in Croatia

She had similar views about the apocalypse as Elleshia and relayed the same messages on social media

She went on to share that the boy’s family ‘is definitely trying to get him home,’ describing how they are working with the US Embassy and Croatian authorities to return the child to Georgia.

The process involves submitting documents, verifying identities and residency, and navigating language barriers and different legal systems.

Still, the family says it is worth all of the effort.

‘He needs to have a stable home, environment and an everyday school. Just your average childhood life,’ Cruz noted.

In the meantime, Kendall said he and Heather are reserving funds to help with the child’s legal costs ‘to get himself into a good situation, wherever he considers home to be.

‘He has been very worried about not being able to communicate with family and friends (“they probably think I’m dead”) so we’ve purchased a decent phone with a plan,’ Kendall wrote on the GoFundMe.

‘Luckily, he was able to log back into his old apps and reconnect with the friends he hasn’t spoken to in weeks,’ he said, adding that the couple also added their contact information into his phone ‘so that he can reach out to us for help at any time.’ 

At the same time, McVeigh, who has had at least one run-in with Croatian authorities since moving to the country, is now facing child endangerment charges.

She also has two pending felony cases and an active misdemeanor criminal trespassing warrant in Coffee County, Georgia, but it remains unclear whether she will face any additional charges in the state.