End to the search: Meli and Liel Yahalomi located
A week after contact with them was lost in Vienna, Meli and Liel Yahalomi were located in South America following a round-the-clock international intelligence operation. The dramatic moment of the encounter took place on a bus, when a police representative approached the two and said: "We were very worried about you, I want to ask you a few questions." Thus ended the disappearance journey that crossed countries and continents and occupied security authorities in Israel and abroad.
The international drama that has gripped the country in recent days has come to an end: the Israel Police announced this evening (Friday) officially that Meli Yahalomi (50) and her daughter Liel (23), residents of Modiin who disappeared during their stay in Vienna, were located at the end of an extensive and complex search operation that crossed borders and continents.
The dramatic moment of location occurred immediately upon their landing, when an Israel Police representative in South America boarded the bus and addressed the two directly. In the first conversation with them, which was conducted in calm tones, the policeman was heard saying to them: "Hi Meli, hi Liel, I am Walter, a police representative in South America from the Intelligence Division of the Israel Police. I want to ask you a few questions, we were very worried about you, okay? I will let everyone get off – and we will talk a little, okay?".
This meeting concluded a tense week of international search efforts and paved the way for the start of an investigation into the circumstances of their departure. A police source who spoke with N12 shed light on the search efforts and the moments of joining the two. According to him, the security forces continuously tracked their movement route and managed to reach the bus they were traveling on. The source explained that the police had estimated in advance that the mother and daughter had left the country of their own free will and that no threats or pressures were being exerted on them, but there was an operational necessity to meet them face to face to verify this beyond any doubt.
According to the police statement, the global search efforts were managed under the direct guidance of the Police Commissioner, Rav-Nitzav Dani Levy, and were entrusted to the investigators of the Economic Warfare Unit in Lahav 433 in cooperation with the Intelligence Division of the Israel Police. As part of the complex operation, dedicated control centers were established that operated on a 24/7 basis, both in Israel and in several locations abroad, while allocating all the necessary resources and technological means.
The search efforts were concentrated in close, multi-agency cooperation with the Europol organization, foreign police and security organizations, as well as international aviation and border authorities. During the days of the search, hundreds of targeted investigative actions, technological tracking, and complex data cross-referencing were carried out, which eventually led to the exact location of the mother and daughter.
"The Israel Police, in cooperation with all security agencies and relevant parties in Israel and abroad, acted in recent days in an extensive and focused effort," the police spokesperson's statement said. "After many efforts and joint work of all parties, including Europol and other police organizations abroad, the missing persons were located. The Israel Police thanks all parties in Israel and abroad for the cooperation and assistance in the search efforts."
