Woman took Kansas kids to Russia during divorce. They’re still there five years later

A woman who took her own children from Wichita and fled to Russia after her Air Force husband filed for divorce has been convicted of kidnapping. The kids are still in Russia, though efforts are being made to reunite them with their father.

Bogdana Alexandrovna Mobley, 38, was found guilty on Wednesday of taking her children to Russia though their father, Brian Mobley, had joint custody, U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister said in a news release.

A grand jury indicted Bogdana Mobley, who also went by a different last name of Osipova, on charges of international parental kidnapping and four counts of extortionate interstate communications. A jury found her guilty of kidnapping and two counts of extortion. She was found not guilty of two counts of extortion.

Federal prosecutors wrote in court documents that Bogdana emigrated to the United States from Russia in 2003 and gained dual Russian and U.S. citizenship in 2010. She later met Brian Mobley, a U.S. Air Force recruiter, and they moved to Wichita.

Their first child was born in January 2013, and they married that same month. The Mobleys also had a stepchild from Bogdana’s previous marriage.

Just over a year later, in March 2014, Brian filed for divorce in Sedgwick County District Court. His petition called for joint legal custody.

A month later, Bogdana, who was pregnant with their second child, took the kids to Russia.

District court documents show the divorce was granted later that year, and her former husband was awarded sole custody of the children. Meanwhile, she gained her own divorce through Russian courts.

Bogdana said in district court documents that she offered to let her ex-husband visit their children in Poland or Lithuania, which she said are “easy to get to.” But when Brian flew to Europe in January 2015 and met Bogdana on the border of Poland and Russia, she refused to let him see the children and demanded money, federal prosecutors previously said.

Bogdana said their children were able to Skype with Brian until he refused to pay for his ex-wife’s Russian internet service. Federal attorneys say she demanded money if he wanted to talk to his children.

Prosecutors said Bogdana appeared through Skype for district court proceedings, but failed to return the children to Kansas when she was ordered to. She was arrested in September 2017 by the FBI at a rental car agency when she returned to the United States seeking to change Brian’s child support obligation.

Federal court documents previously said the whereabouts of the children were unknown, but they were believed to be in Russia. Wednesday’s news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office said the Mobleys’ first child has not been returned to the states. It did not mention their second child, who was born in Russia.

Bogdana’s attorneys wrote in August 2018 court documents that they were cooperating with the U.S. government to return the daughters to the U.S. Her defense attorneys said they thought the children would be back in this country that same month.

A GoFundMe page identifies the girls as Sophia and Isabella Mobley. Sophia, 6, and Isabella, 4, are listed on the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

U.S. Rep. Ron Estes’ office issued a statement Thursday saying that he has been working for the past year to help reunite Brian Mobley with his children.

“Mr. Mobley has worked tirelessly to bring his daughters home, at considerable financial and emotional expense,” Estes wrote in a letter to Russian Ambassador Anatoly Antonov. “I respectfully request that you work through the proper diplomatic and domestic channels in order to reunite these two innocent children with their father.”

Sentencing for Bogdana Mobley is scheduled for May 20. She faces up to three years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000 on the kidnapping conviction. Each extortion charges carries penalties of up to 20 years in prison and fines up to $250,000.

This story was originally published March 7, 2019 at 2:23 PM.