Belel Kandil Missing Person Case

Jan 28, 2026

Jan 28, 2026

Belel

Kandil

31

20

White / Caucasian

Male

In the late summer of 2014, a painful and enduring story of separation began to unfold in James City County, Virginia. On August 29, 2014, eight-year-old Belel Kandil, a young male with blond hair and blue eyes, vanished from his life in Virginia. He and his ten-year-old sister, Amina, were picked up by their father, Ahmed Abdallah Taha Kandil, from their mother's home. The children's parents were separated and shared custody. Their father, Ahmed, informed their mother, Rebecca Downey, that he was taking them on a short trip to visit his sister out of town, or possibly to Toronto, Canada, for the Labor Day weekend. He promised they would be back before the new school year started, a promise that would be broken, leaving a void that has lasted for years. That farewell was the last time Rebecca would see her children. The initial reassurances from the children's father quickly gave way to concern and then the heartbreaking realization of the truth. When the children did not return as scheduled, their mother discovered that the planned trip to Toronto had been a deception. Instead of a short domestic trip, Ahmed Kandil had orchestrated an international abduction. On August 30, 2014, the father and the two children were seen leaving the United States on a flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. Their journey took them first to Boryspil, Ukraine, and then to Ataturk, Turkey. In the wake of their disappearance, the Circuit Court of Williamsburg and James City County granted the children's mother immediate sole and legal custody on September 5, 2014. A federal arrest warrant for international parental kidnapping was issued for Ahmed Kandil, who is a naturalized U.S. citizen with dual Egyptian citizenship. The search for Belel and his sister Amina became an international effort, with law enforcement agencies working across borders. The FBI, in conjunction with the James City County Police Department and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, has been actively investigating the case. Authorities believe the children may be residing in Egypt, specifically in the areas of Alexandria, Cairo, or Giza, where their father has family. The Hatay region of Turkey has also been identified as a possible location. Over the years, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has released age-progressed photos to show what Belel and Amina might look like as they grow into young adults. This case is an agonizing example of international parental kidnapping, where a father allegedly misled the children's mother to remove them from the country, creating a complex and prolonged investigation that continues in the hope of reuniting the children with their mother.

Aug 28, 2014

Williamsburg

Virginia

07/17/2026