A senior Israeli police official said Saturday that Mali and Liel Yahalomi, the mother and daughter who disappeared in Vienna earlier this month, deliberately gave the impression they were still in the Austrian capital while sending videos from an undisclosed other country, according to ynet. The statement adds a new layer to the case, after the pair were found safe in South America on Friday.
A senior Israeli police official told ynet early Saturday that Mali and Liel Yahalomi sent videos during their disappearance that created the impression they were still in Vienna, when in fact they were in an undisclosed different country. The official did not specify which country the videos originated from or how they were transmitted. This follows a report on Friday by N12 that a police source said the pair had sent a photo claiming to be in Vienna while actually elsewhere — part of what investigators now describe as a pattern of deliberate deception.
The case reached a resolution on Friday evening, when the Israel Police confirmed the pair had been located alive in South America after a week-long search, as The Zioneer reported at 20:17 Jerusalem time. That confirmation followed an earlier assessment, as The Zioneer reported on Wednesday August 12, that the mother and daughter had likely left Austria voluntarily. On Friday evening, police sources disclosed that the pair had withdrawn €14,000 in cash and meticulously planned their departure (reported by The Zioneer). The search was led by Lahav 433 and the Intelligence Division, with cooperation from Europol and foreign police forces. The family responded Friday night, expressing joy that the two were alive but noting that matters remained to be clarified, as The Zioneer reported. Later Friday, police sources cited debts of hundreds of thousands of shekels as the motive (N12, i24NEWS). The pair were questioned and released by authorities in Buenos Aires.
As The Zioneer reported in its background coverage, investigators shifted from initial security concerns to a planned departure after security footage showed the pair leaving their Vienna apartment voluntarily. The resolution of the case, while confirming safety, has exposed evidence of a premeditated effort to mislead authorities and family.
It remains unclear from which country the videos were sent, how they were transmitted to appear authentically from Vienna, and what legal steps, if any, will follow. No further details on the pair's current location or legal status have been released.
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