Israelis Mali Yahalomi, 50, and her daughter Liel, 23, were found aboard a long-distance bus in Argentina, seven days after contact with them was lost in Vienna. They were located by police in the South American country.
According to initial reports, the two women had planned their disappearance.
סוף טוב: מלי וליאל יהלומי אותרו בחיים בארגנטינה pic.twitter.com/OLvlJQMR2h
— אלי סניור (@SenyorEli) August 14, 2026
After they were located by Argentine police, the Yahalomis were questioned and released, with no suspicion of criminal activity.
“We tracked their route and managed to reach the bus they were traveling on,” a police source said. “We knew they had apparently left the country of their own free will and that there were no threats against them, but we had to make sure of that. We made contact with them, updated them on developments and confirmed with them that there was no concern of criminal activity. From this point on, it is their decision. They cut off contact voluntarily and their lives are not in danger. This is not a criminal incident and there are no grounds for arrest.”
On Sunday morning, Israel Police spokesman Aryeh Doron said, “At this stage, the police still do not know the exact reason for their disappearance during that period.”
Speaking on the “Kalman Liberman” program on the Kan Reshet Bet radio station, he added that investigators were not aware of “any special incident, only small debts.”
Doron said the probe “spread across countries, continents, with the work of the police Intelligence Division.” Police deployed “very large forces and capabilities in order to locate them,” he said.
Hebrew media reports have quoted police sources as saying the pair left the Jewish state for Argentina to “start a new life.”
The mother and daughter, residents of the Modi’in area who were in debt and had purchased different phones, had been considered out of contact since Friday evening, Aug. 7. They landed in Prague the previous Tuesday, continued to Vienna and rented an apartment.
According to the family, Mali and Liel had remained in regular contact with relatives, sharing photos and experiences from their trip, before suddenly going silent.
The Israel Police, in cooperation with other relevant authorities abroad, including Europol, had been conducting an extensive and focused effort in recent days to locate the missing women.
Originally published by Israel Hayom.
