Instead of a planned camping trip to Canada, a U.S. couple took a 10-year-old to Cuba for gender reassignment surgery, authorities allege

A plane is on approach to land at the Vancouver International Airport YVR. (Photo by Mert Alper Dervis/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

A couple from the United States has been accused of parental kidnapping after allegedly taking a 10-year-old to Cuba for a gender reassignment surgery without the mother’s knowledge, using a planned Canadian camping trip as a cover story.

In a news release posted Tuesday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah said the child was originally supposed to travel to Calgary on March 28 for a camping trip with their biological father, Rose Inessa-Ethington, also known as Eri Ethington, Rose’s partner Blue Inessa-Ethington, also known as Carly Ann Crosby, and Blue’s three-year-old.

The group allegedly failed to show up at their hotel or the campground where they planned to stay until April 2. The last time the group was heard from was on the day they were set to depart, when the 10-year-old allegedly told the mother in a phone call that they had arrived in Canada.

However, the child was not returned to the mother, who shares custody of the child with Rose, her former spouse, once the Calgary camping trip had ended according to a court-ordered custody agreement, the news release said.

On March 29, the group crossed the Canada-U.S. border and took a flight from Vancouver to Mexico City, according to court documents. The group allegedly took another flight from Merida, Mexico, to Havana, Cuba, on April 1, which was confirmed by Mexican authorities, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

“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,” the news release said.

“Concerns existed that the child was transported to Cuba for gender reassignment surgery prior to puberty.”

On April 13, a Utah State Court ordered that the child be returned to the mother “immediately” and granted her exclusive custody, the news release said. Cuban law enforcement located the group a few days later on April 16.

“Our priority in every parental kidnapping case is the safety and well-being of the child,” said Special Agent in Charge Robert Bohls of the Salt Lake City FBI. “This case reflects the strength of partnerships in locating victims, supporting reunification, and ensuring accountability.”

Multiple U.S. law enforcement agencies are investigating the case as a part of a nationwide initiative by the U.S. Department of Justice to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse, the news release stated.