An alert about an escape plan triggered an urgent Interpol operation that made it possible to thwart the kidnapping, ensure custody, and guarantee the return of the minors to Argentina
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In an operation that combined a judicial decision, international cooperation and urgent police action,an Argentine citizen managed to recover his two underage children in Brazil after almost two years of searching. The intervention of Interpol and Brazilian judicial authorities made it possible to thwart a new escape attempt and ensure the safe return of the children to Argentina, where a precautionary measure that protects their integrity is already in force.
The protagonist of this story is José María Rosa, a 50-year-old Argentine, who on December 24 managed to board a flight to Buenos Aires with his children, F., 11 years old, and F., 6, after a true 84-day odyssey on Brazilian territory and almost two years without seeing them, since February 2024. The children had been taken out of the country without his consent by their mother, Ilona Grabarczik (51), of Polish nationality, who moved between the United States and Europe.
José María con sus hijos (F y F)
The case was unlocked at the end of September, when Interpol managed to locate the minors in Copacabana, in a vulnerable situation, working on the street, selling objects and without schooling. Faced with that scenario, the Brazilian Juvenile and Youth Court ordered that they be separated from their mother and transferred to a state shelter for minors, where they received social and psychological assistance. They remained there for 65 days.
Rosa traveled immediately from Buenos Aires to Rio de Janeiro on October 1, first to be reunited with his children and then to attempt a judicial conciliation. At the beginning of December, a conciliation hearing was held in which it was agreed that on December 26 the father would return with the children to Argentina —the country where they had always lived with him and where Rosa had de facto custody—, while Christmas Eve and Christmas would be shared with the mother.
However, an unexpected twist set off all the alarms. At the last moment, the Brazilian Federal Court decided to move the return up to December 24, after a new kidnapping plan by the mother was confirmed. According to the authorities, a concrete risk of escape was detected, so the planned Christmas visit was suspended and only one controlled meeting on December 23, between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., at Shopping Rio Sul was authorized, under strict police supervision.
Ilona Grabarczik.
The reason was forceful. "The father of the minors discovered a geolocator in his son's shoe and then learned that the mother had secretly registered in the same condominium as the father, two floors below, in Copacabana", detailed the Head of the International Cooperation Unit of the Federal Police. The finding was confirmed by Rosa's attorney, Ana Paula Mengual, who stated: "The discovery of a GPS chip in the boy's sneaker was a total surprise. Then we learned that she had rented an apartment in the same building. It really is like a movie."
Given the seriousness of the situation, Interpol activated an emergency operation:it provided permanent protection, housed Rosa and the children on the night of December 23 at the home of an Argentine agent and arranged emergency passports for the minors, who did not have documentation. Everything was carried out under maximum secrecy. At 4:10 a.m. on the 24th, Rosa wrote:"We are protected by Interpol, after conclusive evidence of a plan to kidnap them again was found."
Hours later, at 1:45 p.m., a message confirmed the outcome: a photo of the children already seated on an Aerolíneas Argentinas plane. "They sent us to first class, we can't believe it", the father recounted. The landing took place around 5 p.m., and the family spent Christmas Eve in Buenos Aires, accompanied by members of the Fundación Morelli, which provided Rosa with financial and emotional support throughout the journey.
José María con sus tres hijos.
The previous ordeal was extreme. For weeks, Rosa lived in an overcrowded boarding house, sharing a room with seven people, and then he obtained an informal job in Copacabana:"I washed dishes eight hours a day for 35,000 pesos. I did it for more than a month. We had to eat and pay for a roof over our heads." Today he admits to a debt of six million pesos on his credit card.
Since February 23, 2024, Rosa claims to have fought "alone against the world", without resources, with little institutional help and relying almost exclusively on social media. His strategy was clear:"I want a million eyes on the street". He posted every step on TikTok and Instagram, achieving videos with more than one million views. That is how he received the key tip:a message warning that the children had been seen in a mall in Rio.
On the penultimate day of the year, already in Argentina, the final judicial confirmation arrived:Civil Court No. 25 issued a precautionary restraining order, which prohibits the mother from approaching the minors in Argentine territory.
