Two Missing Sons With San Diego Ties Found Safe in Mexico After Six Month Investigation: FBI

The boys’ father has family in Carlsbad and Encinitas and says his ex-wife has friends in San Diego

After a six month investigation, two missing boys have been found safe and their mother charged with international parental kidnapping, the FBI announced. 

The boys, aged nine and 15, of Washington, were found in Mexico's Sinaola state, with their mother, 41-year-old Faye Ku.

The boys were reunited Saturday with their father, David, who has legal custody of the sons. The boys’ father has family in Carlsbad and Encinitas and says his ex-wife has friends in San Diego. Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputies believed Ku adbucted her sons in Southern California at Los Angeles International Airport in August. 

"For us personally, Helen and I are overjoyed to have [the boys] back at home," David Cook, the boys' father, said in a statement. "The boys are healthy, but have been through a difficult experience. 
They have begun to make contact with their friends, and we are confident that in time they will heal."

A felony warrant for custodial interference was issued by the King County Superior Court in Washington on September 3 for the boys’ mother. A federal arrest warrant was issued in January by the United States District Court, Western District of Washington, after Ku was charged with international parental kidnapping. Another federal complaint and arrest warrant was issued Friday.

According to investigators, Faye crossed the border from San Diego to Tijuana illegally on August 29.

The FBI’s Legal Attache office in Mexico pursued leads in the case and contacted Mexican authorities regarding their location.

The FBI’s Seattle Division and Legat Mexico City coordinated the deportation of Ku with Mexican authorities.

National Institute of Migration (INM) officers accompanied the mother Friday to LAX, where she was taken into federal custody, officials said.

"We are eternally grateful to the FBI both here in Seattle and in Mexico for their tireless work in bringing this case to a successful conclusion," the boys' father said in a statement. "We are also very thankful to the Bellevue police department and the Los Angeles County sheriff's department for their role in the initial investigation."

Ku is expected to appear in U.S. District Court on Tuesday in Los Angeles. 

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