A senior police source told N12 that Mali and Liel Yahalomi sent family members documentation allegedly filmed in Vienna, but the pair were actually in a different destination. The source said they may have faked phone location data to create the impression they were near Vienna's central bus station.
A senior Israeli police source told N12 early Saturday morning that Mali and Liel Yahalomi sent relatives footage allegedly recorded in Vienna but were actually in a different location. The source stated that the pair may have deliberately falsified their phone location data to create the impression they were near Vienna's central bus station, suggesting a premeditated effort to mislead investigators.
The claim adds to a pattern of deception that has emerged over the past day. On Friday evening at 20:17 Jerusalem, The Zioneer reported that the mother and daughter had been located in Buenos Aires, Argentina, after a week-long search. Police sources said at the time that the disappearance was voluntary, driven by debts of hundreds of thousands of shekels. Subsequent reports revealed that the pair had withdrawn approximately €14,000 in cash and planned their departure in advance. On Friday, police also disclosed that the Yahalomis had sent family members a photo claiming to be in Vienna, but were actually elsewhere — a detail that has now been supplemented by the new claim of falsified phone location data.
As The Zioneer reported on August 12, the investigation had already shifted to the assessment that the pair had left Austria voluntarily. Security camera footage showed them leaving their apartment alone with personal belongings, and location data from their phones had been intentionally deleted. The Mossad and Shin Bet were involved in the widening search.
Several questions remain open. The senior police source did not disclose which country the videos were actually sent from, and the precise timeline of the pair's movements between leaving Austria and being found in Buenos Aires has not been fully accounted for. The family has stated they are 'very happy' that the two are alive but noted that matters still need clarification.
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