Missing Israelis in Vienna: Family Disputes Police Claims

The family of Mali and Liel Yehalomi, an Israeli mother and daughter who disappeared in Vienna, provided detailed testimony overnight Wednesday to investigators from Israel's Lahav 433 serious crimes unit and handed over all information and evidence in their possession, according to an official statement released by the family.

The Yahalomi family is seriously concerned about recent briefings coming from the Israel Police spokesperson's office. These statements are giving people the wrong impression, that police have already made up their minds about what happened to Mally and Liel. That's not okay, the family said.

The family's response follows dramatic developments reported Wednesday evening in the case. Police sources indicated that initial findings suggest the two women were not abducted but may have left of their own accord. According to those reports, location data on their mobile phones was deliberately deleted days before they vanished, and investigators are examining whether they withdrew a large sum of cash in advance.

According to the family, some information published by police was never presented to them, and they have evidence that fundamentally contradicts portions of the claims that were published.

The family detailed that according to information conveyed to them by Israeli police, no unusual activity occurred in Mali and Liel's bank accounts, with the last use recorded on August 3. This data contradicts media reports about withdrawing large amounts of cash.

"To the extent that the Israel Police possesses data and documents substantiating the published claims, the family requests that they be presented within the framework of the investigation and examined against the information in its possession," the statement said. The family emphasized that contrary to what the police spokesperson published, "at the present stage there is no basis whatsoever for ruling out the possibility of a hate crime on nationalist grounds."

The family statement stressed that "Mali and Liel Yehalomi have been out of contact since Friday evening, August 7. The loss of contact is completely unusual. Throughout the trip they maintained contact with the family, shared photos and experiences, and then contact with them was severed."

The family concluded with a clear demand: "As long as Mali and Liel remain missing, the search must continue at full strength."

The statement comes against the backdrop of Wednesday evening's publications about indications that the two left voluntarily.

Israel Police Commissioner Danny Levy convened a special situation assessment focused on efforts to locate the pair and ordered all necessary resources allocated to advance the investigation. Vienna police, for their part, stated that at this stage there is no indication of a criminal offense in the case.