Abducted by a Parent

Abdul with his missing son, Aziz Khan.

AMINA & BELEL KANDIL

Williamsburg, VA: On the Thursday before the 2014 Labor Day weekend, Rebecca Downey says goodbye to her two children, Amina, 10, and Belel Kandil, 8. Rebecca and the children’s father, Ahmed Kandil, are separated and headed toward a divorce, but share custody. On Thursday evening, Ahmed picks up the children for a four-day trip to Toronto. Ahmed assures Rebecca the kids will be home in time for their first day of school, Tuesday, September 2nd, but Rebecca hasn’t seen her children since that day.

When the children don’t show up for school, Rebecca quickly learns that Ahmed never traveled to Toronto. Instead, he abducted the two children and flew overseas to Turkey. Ahmed Kandil has family in Giza, Egypt, where authorities believe the three may be living. It’s also possible they’re in a neighboring country. Ahmed likely told the children that their mother, Rebecca, is dead. It’s also possible he has limited the children’s access to the Internet, to shield them from the truth: that for the past eight years, their mother has worked with the FBI, politicians, and private investigators to try to find her children. She has filled four journals with daily letters to the children. It’s likely that Ahmed requested a name change in Egypt, for himself, and possibly for the children. In 2022, Amina is now 18. Her brother, Belel, is 15.

Ahmed Kandil, DOB 6/1/1971, is wanted for International Parental Kidnapping.

Rabia Khalid is wanted for felony kidnapping.

AZIZ KHAN

In November 2017, after a long, contentious custody battle, Abdul Khan is awarded sole custody of his 6-year-old son, Aziz Khan. When they looked deeper, investigators determine that Rabia Khalid, Abdul’s ex-wife, lied about Abdul to obtain custody. A court date is set, and Abdul will soon be reunited with Aziz. However, Rabia doesn’t show up at the court hearing and neither Rabia nor Aziz have been seen since. Authorities learn that in 2017, Rabia pulled Aziz out of elementary school in Atlanta, on the Friday before Thanksgiving. That same day, Rabia and her husband, Elliot Bourgeois, sold their cars at CarMax in Atlanta and abandoned the apartment they shared with Aziz. Law enforcement believes it’s possible Rabia and Elliot changed their names, and Aziz’s name, as there is no digital trace of the three. It’s likely that someone, whether it be family or friends, is financing Rabia on the run. In 2022, Aziz is now 12 years old.

Rabia Khalid, DOB 2/6/1985, is wanted for felony kidnapping.