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Jan 28, 2026
Jan 28, 2026
Yulia
Berezow
6
6
Female
In what began as a family trip, a young girl from Washington became the center of a protracted international custody dispute that has left her whereabouts, from the perspective of one parent and the legal system, unknown for years. Yulia Berezow was born in Kirkland, Washington, on April 21, 2019. In early 2020, at less than a year old, she traveled with her parents, Anna and Alexander Berezow, to Poland to visit relatives. The family was scheduled to return to their home in Washington on August 12, 2020, but on that day, Anna informed Alexander that she and Yulia would be remaining in Poland. This marked the beginning of a complex legal battle and the start of a long separation between a father and his child. Shortly after Anna's decision to stay in Poland with Yulia, divorce proceedings were initiated in both Poland and Washington. The King County Superior Court in Washington asserted jurisdiction over the case and, in February 2022, entered a temporary parenting plan that designated Alexander as the primary residential parent. The court ordered Anna to return her daughter to Washington state, an order which was not followed. As the legal proceedings continued without Anna or Yulia's return, the situation escalated. In May 2022, the King County prosecutor's office moved for a warrant for Anna's arrest on the charge of Custodial Interference in the First Degree, with a proposed bail of $250,000. The court case delved into serious and troubling allegations. Anna argued for her decision to keep Yulia in Poland by raising concerns about Alexander's mental health, specifically his Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, which she claimed involved intrusive thoughts that made him a threat to their daughter. Alexander contended that his OCD was being misrepresented and that Anna was unjustly keeping his daughter from him through parental alienation. A seven-day bench trial took place in late 2023, with Anna representing herself remotely from Poland. In January 2024, the court formalized its earlier decisions, awarding sole custody to Alexander and imposing restrictions on Anna's contact with Yulia. The court found that Anna had engaged in an "abusive use of conflict" and had withheld Yulia "without good cause." This case is not a typical missing person's scenario, but rather a complex international parental kidnapping case, with a child caught between two parents and two legal systems, and a father in Washington who has been unable to see his daughter for many years.
Aug 10, 2020
Woodinville
Washington
06/12/2026
