Unsolved Mysteries’ Ahmed Kandil and Rebecca Downey case: Have there been any updates?
Unsolved Mysteries volume 3 returns today with its final three episodes. In this new batch, we learn about multiple disappearances and an unexplained death that still has more questions surrounding it than answers. The third episode, “Abducted by a Parent” follows two different stories of parents whose children were stolen from them. The first account is about a woman named Rebecca Downey, whose ex-husband Ahmed Kandil abducted their two kids, Amina and Belel, in 2014.
In the Unsolved Mysteries episode, Rebecca explains how she and Ahmed met and lived a happy life together, getting married and having two kids. Unfortunately, Ahmed lost his job during the 2008 recession and he completely changed after that. He seemed to have no motivation to find another job and became unusually conservative in his religious views. By 2013, Rebecca and Ahmed split, but they remained amicable in order to co-parent Amina and Belel.
Unfortunately, Rebecca’s life was turned upside down when her children did not return from a weekend trip to Canada with Ahmed. She could not get ahold of Ahmed and discovered that the kids did not attend school that day. Rebecca was able to escalate the situation to the FBI, and that’s when things got scarier.
What happened to Rebecca Downey’s kids, Amina and Belel?
It was discovered that Ahmed did not take Amina and Belel to Canada at all, but instead, they flew to Turkey. Rebecca hired private investigators to help her find the kids, and they were able to locate Amina’s iPad in a town called Hatay, Turkey. This alarmed Rebecca considering how close Hatay is to the Syrian border, which has been a warzone for years. She also later received an email from someone she believed was Ahmed, telling her that the children were safe, living with animals on a farm.
Rebecca has theorized that perhaps Amina and Belel are living in Egypt, as that’s where Ahmed’s family owns a farm. But unfortunately, she still has not been able to locate them or bring them home. At this point, we can assume the kids are most likely living somewhere in the Middle East, but that’s as much as we’ve got.
Are there any updates on Ahmed Kandil’s whereabouts?
Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like there have been any updates on Ahmed’s whereabouts or the kids’. According to the FBI investigation, Ahmed was last reported seen at JFK Airport in New York City, where he would travel with Amina and Belel to Ukraine and then to Turkey. In 2016, Ahmed applied for an Egyptian ID card, using his father’s address. This did not lead to much, sadly.
FBI Special Agent Stacey Sullivan has been working the case and during a podcast interview in 2021, said they believe Anima and Belel are living in Egypt. The host of the Inside the FBI podcast noted she’s been working with the FBI’s Egypt ambassador to try and locate them.
We’re keeping Rebecca Downey and her family in our thoughts as she continues to look for her two children.
All nine episodes of Unsolved Mysteries volume 3 are now streaming.