Johnson County mother says son taken to Dubai without her permission

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - Lana Borysov beams when she talks about her 3-year-old son Andrew.

“Andrew loves Paw Patrol right now. He loves Paw Patrol! And he loves going to the highest heights. We’ll climb the playground together and fall off of it. But he’s so adventurous!” said Lana.

Lana said her marriage was falling apart, and there were discussions of divorce and shared custody. Her husband is from Ukraine and struggled with immigration in the United States. She knew custody might mean Andrew would live in the U.K. She said she never saw Dubai coming.

“I considered it an abduction because he did not tell me he was taking him to Dubai, out of the state out of the country, let alone Dubai,” said Lana.

Lana says she thought her son was on a day trip to Lincoln, Missouri, with her husband and his parents. She found her car at the airport and quickly realized they had left the country.

She is currently allowed to zoom and speak with Andrew in a limited way but cannot ask serious questions of the father or the call abruptly ends.

She says Andrew was excited about the adventure at first but now he appears confused.

“He’s like, ‘Mommy’s hiding. Where’s Mommy?’ And he’ll hide in the dark and talk to me. I’m like, ‘Andrew, I’m not hiding. Mommy’s here, but Mommy can’t be there right now.’ I don’t want to tell my son something he won’t understand. You’ve been kidnapped and they took you without my permission. Like, you don’t tell that to a child,” said Lana.

Lana has contacted Overland Park Police and is reaching out to attorneys for help.

She decided to go public to help with the expenses and get support.

Lana is a U.S. citizen. She was born in Russia. Her son, Andrew, is a U.S. citizen, too.

According to the Department of Justice, international custody cases like these happen every day. Many are peacefully resolved through due international agreements pursuant to the Hague Convention.

However, it only applies if both countries involved are signatories to the Convention. Dubai is not a member.

The Center for Missing and Exploited Children says about a quarter of all family abduction cases have an international component.

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