As previously reported, Mali and Liel Yahalomi, the Israeli mother and daughter whose disappearance triggered an intensive international search, were located in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Shabbos, where they told authorities that they had left voluntarily and wanted to distance themselves from their family and Israel.

The two were questioned by Argentine authorities in the presence of an Israel Police representative and were subsequently released after investigators found no indication that a crime had been committed. However, Israeli police officials say significant questions remain unanswered and believe the two did not disclose the full story behind their disappearance.

According to information uncovered during the investigation, Mali and Liel had apparently planned their disappearance in advance due to personal circumstances connected to financial matters. Investigators also believe Argentina was not necessarily intended to be their final destination and that the two had planned to continue to another country.

Channel 12 published excerpts from the initial questioning conducted shortly after the two were found, revealing a brief exchange between the women and an Argentine police officer identified as Walter.

“What happened?” the officer asked.

“We just want to disconnect from the family, from the country,” Mali and Liel responded.

The officer then asked, “Is someone threatening you? Trying to extort you?”

“No, no one,” they replied.

Asked whether they were fleeing because of financial debts, the two again denied it, adding, “We just want to leave everything.”

Despite those answers, Israeli investigators remain uncertain about the precise circumstances that led Mali and Liel to abruptly disappear and travel across several countries without informing their family.

A senior Israel Police official said investigators had hoped to conduct a much more extensive interrogation after the two were located.

“We very much wanted to question them thoroughly and deeply, because we do not fully understand the motive. Unfortunately, the Argentine police told us: ‘You do not have the authority to conduct the type of investigation you want to carry out.’”

As a result, Israeli authorities were limited to a relatively brief series of questions and answers.

“Therefore, we had to make do with their brief questions and answers. They cooperated, but our feeling is that they did not tell the full story. The bottom line is that they claim they left Israel of their own free will,” the official said.

Their discovery brought an end to a massive weeklong international search that involved hundreds of Israeli investigators and law enforcement agencies across several countries.

At the direction of Israel Police Commissioner Danny Levy, special command centers were established in Israel and abroad and operated around the clock. Approximately 300 investigators were involved simultaneously, with Israeli authorities working alongside Europol and police agencies in other countries.

As the investigation progressed, the case was transferred to the Israel Police’s National Fraud Investigations Unit at Lahav 433. Investigators increasingly concluded that the disappearance was unlikely to have involved a kidnapping or an attack motivated by terrorism or nationalism.

The first significant indication of the pair’s whereabouts emerged on Friday evening and ultimately led authorities to Buenos Aires.

Evidence gathered by investigators reportedly indicates that Mali and Liel had prepared for their disappearance in advance. Among the evidence was a cellphone exchange between mother and daughter that appeared to show Liel willingly participating in her mother’s plans.

“I will go with you anywhere,” Liel wrote to her mother, according to the report.

Investigators also uncovered additional indications of advance planning. Mali and Liel allegedly deleted applications from their cellphones and took other measures apparently intended to make it more difficult for authorities to track their movements.

Authorities also discovered that the two had used the Gemini app and asked questions that investigators believe may have been connected to planning their route and journey.

Investigators reportedly suspect that Mali had made several previous trips abroad in an effort to familiarize herself with locations and prepare for the eventual departure.

Security camera footage from Vienna provided another significant clue. The footage showed Mali and Liel leaving the apartment where they had been staying while carrying all of their personal belongings. No other individual was visible accompanying them, strengthening investigators’ assessment that the two had departed voluntarily rather than being taken against their will.

Their movements ultimately took them out of Austria and onward to Argentina, where authorities were able to locate them.

An Israel Police official said the representative who met with the women confirmed that they were safe and did not appear to be under coercion.

“The two left of their own free will. The police representative verified that their lives were not in danger, that they were not being threatened, and that they could continue on their way,” the official said.

Investigators have nevertheless not closed every avenue of inquiry. Authorities reportedly believe it remains possible that another individual provided Mali and Liel with guidance or assistance during their journey, though that possibility has not yet been established and remains under investigation.

For now, the central mystery surrounding their physical whereabouts has been resolved: Mali and Liel are alive, were found in Argentina, and have told authorities that they left voluntarily.

What remains unresolved is why they went to such lengths to disappear, whether anyone assisted them, and why they chose to abruptly sever contact with their family and country — questions Israeli investigators say the brief questioning in Argentina did not fully answer.

{Matzav.com}