The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) rescued a ten-year-old boy who was reportedly taken to Cuba by his biological father and his father’s partner without the knowledge of the boy’s mother.
The unnamed biological boy, who reportedly identifies as a “female child,” was supposed to be going on a camping trip to Canada with his biological father, Rose Inessa-Ethington, also known as Eri Ethington, according to a press release from the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah.
Rose, as well as Rose’s partner, Blue Inessa-Ethington (also known as Carly Ann Crosby), and Blue’s three-year-old and the ten-year-old were reportedly “supposed to be traveling by car to Calgary in Alberta, Canada, for a planned camping trip,” however, they reportedly “never arrived” at the hotel or campground for their stay between March 29-April 2, 2026, according to the press release.
Instead, the group allegedly “crossed the U.S. Canada Border” on March 29, and then “took a flight from Vancouver, Canada to Mexico City, Mexico.” Days later, on April 1, the group “took another flight from Merida, Mexico to Havana, Cuba,” court documents say, according to the press release:
According to court documents, on March 28, 2026, a 10-year-old child was supposed to be traveling by car to Calgary in Alberta, Canada, for a planned camping trip with the minor victim’s biological father Rose Inessa-Ethington, Rose’s partner Blue and Blue’s 3-year-old child. But the group never arrived at their hotel in Calgary or the campground they planned to stay at from March 29 — April 2, 2026. As alleged, the group had not been heard from since March 28, 2026, when the 10-year-old told the biological mother via telephone they arrived in Canada. The biological mother shares custody of the 10-year-old with Rose, her former spouse. On April 3, 2026, the child was supposed to be returned to the biological mother after the camping trip to Calgary, according to the court ordered custody agreement, which did not occur.
According to court documents, on March 29, 2026, the group crossed the U.S. Canada Border and took a flight from Vancouver, Canada to Mexico City, Mexico. On April 1, 2026, the group took another flight from Merida, Mexico to Havana, Cuba. Mexican immigration authorities confirmed their arrival and departures utilizing their U.S. Passports. As alleged in court documents, interviews with the 10-year-old’s family provided significant concerns for the minor’s well-being, as the child was born male, however, identified as a female child, which family members largely believed to be due to manipulation by Rose. Concerns existed that the child was transported to Cuba for gender reassignment surgery prior to puberty. On April 13, 2026, a Utah State Court ordered that 10-year-old to be returned to the child’s mother immediately and granted the mother exclusive custody of the child. On April 16, 2026, Cuban law enforcement located the group in Cuba.
According to the press release, Rose and Blue “are in federal custody” and have been “charged in a federal criminal complaint of International Parental Kidnapping.”
In court filings, the FBI reportedly “described an elaborate, multicountry kidnapping plot involving $10,000 in cash,” the New York Times reported.
As local law enforcement in Utah, along with FBI officials such as FBI special agent Jennifer Waterfield, launched an investigation, evidence was reportedly found “of a planned operation following a search”:
Local police in Utah and the F.B.I. began investigating, with Ms. Waterfield, the special agent, detailing what the government said was evidence of a planned operation following a search of the their home: $10,000 in withdrawn cash and “to-do” lists detailing plans to empty bank accounts, learn Spanish, obtain tourist visas and put items in storage.
Investigators also said they found notes with instructions from a mental health therapist in Washington, D.C., related to “gender affirming medical care for children” and a request to send the therapist $10,000.
“Our priority in every parental kidnapping case is the safety and well-being of the child,” Robert Bohls, who serves as the Special Agent in Charge for the Salt Lake City FBI division, said.
