His daughter was missing for almost two years, and now his ex-wife has been charged with international parental abduction.
Like many families across the United States, Anthony Gentile shared custody of his two-year-old daughter, Amelia, with his ex-wife, Kathleen Shehadeh, who lived in Virginia Beach. He lives in Maryland.
Back in July 2018, Gentile said he spoke to his daughter on Skype and had plans to see his little girl the next day, but he said suddenly communication was cut off.
Soon after, he said he received a letter in the mail from his ex-wife saying that she was moving out west and would let him know when they settled into their new home.
He said there was no update, and they disappeared. Month after month, he did not know where Amelia was and said the fear and concern were unbearable.
Gentile said for months he called authorities and politicians, and eventually the FBI got involved. He said at first, there were issues about whose jurisdiction the case was in. He said he wrote to Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, who got the Maryland State Police involved.
He said soon after, the FBI got involved and they were able to figure out that his ex-wife had allegedly traveled to Spain.
Federal documents state that prosecutors believe that she traveled to Mexico City, Mexico; Colombia and then Madrid before ending up on a tiny island of the coast of Spain.
Gentile said he also hired a private investigator from Spain. He said it was expensive and nerve-racking to place trust into someone who was located in a different country.
But he said the private investigator was professional and eventually got him concrete answers.
racism at its finest. the authorities would never spend all that time and resources for a child of color! just sayin!