After a seven-month long search, missing seven-year-old Argentine girl Alum Langone Avalos has been found and reunited with her mother.
In a statement yesterday, the Embassy of Argentina in Malaysia said the girl was located in Indonesia and the Argentine Embassy in Jakarta had confirmed the detention of her abductors.
“The great media attention that this news garnered has helped to create an awareness not only in Malaysia but also in other Southeast Asian countries.
“Kind and helpful Malaysian citizens have reached out to assist in different ways and most importantly to report the locations of Alum and her abductors which led to the successful finding of them in Indonesia,” the embassy stated.
The embassy noted that Alum’s mother Elizabeth Avalos was currently in Indonesia to reunite with her and in preparation to return to Buenos Aires. Both embassies in Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta were working together to ensure that Elizabeth could bring Alum home as soon as possible.
Argentina Ambassador to Malaysia, Manuel Balaguer Salas also thanked Malaysian authorities, media and the public for all the help and cooperation given in solving the case.
“This reunion between Alum and her mother would not have been possible without the continuous support from all parties,” he was quoted as saying in the statement.
Elizabeth flew to Malaysia last month and held a news conference where she claimed her daughter was forcefully taken away by her ex-partner, 41-year-old Jorge Gabriel Langone and his current girlfriend and fellow Argentinian Candela Soledad Gutierrez, 35, in June last year.
According to Elizabeth, an Argentine court granted her full custody of Alum after she and Jorge separated in 2011.
Alum, her father and his girlfriend were seen in various parts of Malaysia and last spotted in Kulai, Johor, where the child was supposedly enrolled in a kindergarten.
Earlier report: Jan 27, Allegedly Abducted Argentinian Girl May Have Exited Johor After Media Blitz