01x02 - Mom vs. Kidnapper

[bunniefuu]

- My name is Tiffany.

I'm a mother.

My ex-partner abducted
our six-year-old son

and took him out
of the country.

To get him back,
I went undercover

on the other side
of the world.

I risked imprisonment
and never seeing my boy again.

This is my story.

I was well aware
that I could not

be returning from this trip.

But I was going there
to get him.

So I'm gonna do whatever
I need to do to get it done.

I would have to disguise
myself to get him.

I had a hood on, hat,
sunglasses, and the mask.

I was gonna get my son back
no matter what.

It's Thursday,
August 23, 2007.

As you may have heard,
the Midwest is suffering

the worst flooding
in almost 100 years.

It was the last week
of the summer.

My six-year-old son, Kobe,
was in Brooklyn

with Jeff, his father.

He had him for two weeks.

We were supposed to be
starting back up

the following week
in school.

So I called Jeff on Thursday,
Friday, and Saturday

to set up a time for pickup,
but there was no answer.

I was very worried.

So at that point,
I called the police.

- Tiffany called in,
and she reported that her child

was not returned to her.

She was distraught,
emotional, and very upset.

She told me that the child
was not returned to her

by the child's father,
Jeffrey Lee.

I told her that we would
try to ascertain

the whereabouts of the child

and why the child
was not returned.

That night,
I didn't really sleep,

and I was like,
what is going on?

I didn't know what to do.

I was just thinking, what
can I do to help this along?

Like, I can't just sit here.

So I decided
to just start trying

to figure out where he was.

I decided to go
to the address--

the last address he had left.

I had actually
never been there.

I did not drop Kobe off there.

So I'd never seen
the apartment.

So I decided I would go, um,

and pick him up
from that apartment.

I show up, and I rang
all the doorbells.

I knocked on the door.

Eventually, after quite
some time, someone came out.

I showed them his picture.

I showed them Kobe's picture.

I told them who he was.

And they said, no, they never--

they don't live here.

They've never lived here.

I've never seen them before.

And now I was really,
really worried.

So I was confused.

So I was like, all right,
let me go to his other address,

which I had been to before.

I went up the stairs,
and I knocked on the left door.

The left door is the one
that he lives in.

And when I finally got
someone to answer it,

they told me, no, he had
moved out a long time ago

and they did not know
where he went

and they had not seen him.

I immediately rushed back
to the precinct.

I gave the police
his addresses,

and they went to do
a check themselves.

We visited
the locations Tiffany gave us

and we spoke
to the people living there,

and none of them
knew of Jeffrey Lee.

That's when I got
really scared.

I was worried, on edge
waiting for the phone to ring.

I was like, where in the world
did he take him?

Like, what is happening?

When I first met Jeff,
I was 18 years old,

and he was 26.

It progressed very quickly.

He was very flattering
of me and, you know--

what do they say--
he "love bombed" me.

Like...

We moved in together.

It was a manipulating
and controlling,

unpleasant relationship.

But I was young
and, you know, thought,

things will get better.

And it just got to be
too much,

and I was like, you know what?

We're clearly
not working anymore.

So I went out to California.

My plan was to leave
permanently.

And lo and behold,
I was pregnant.

Oh, my God.
I did not want to be pregnant.

I was, like, 22 years old.

Like, I didn't want
to be pregnant.

And I knew once I told Jeff,

he was going to want
to be involved.

When Kobe was born,
fell in love immediately,

like--like, the minute
I saw him.

But for Jeff, I think
parenting was about

just, I have this other
human being

that I can control
that belongs to me,

you know,
and so now they're mine.

After four days
with no news of my son,

the police are still
saying no one has

any clue where he could be.

I didn't know what to do.

I got a missing poster made.

We put them wherever we could.

You just kind of, like,
stop in your steps and say,

oh, God, my--my kid's missing.

Yeah, that was a hard one.

I don't know what's happened.

I was like,
maybe there was an accident

and no one's getting
in touch with me.

I was depressed,
and it was hard for me

to kind of manage my thoughts.

I was working as a teacher.

So I explained to my
principals, uh, the situation.

They understood the situation.

My friends at work
were amazingly comforting.

They kept me busy
as much as they could,

just to keep my mind
off of the situation.

I handed out flyers,
and then I went home.

I'm feeling
pretty hopeless,

but I knew
I had to do something.

So I decided
to just start trying

to figure out where Jeff was.

He has to stay
in contact with someone.

And so that's when I decided
to hack his email.

I had no idea if I could
do it, but I had to try.

I knew it was
a Yahoo! address.

And I also had
a Yahoo! address,

so I knew how you could
recover passwords on it.

You just had to put in
two questions

that basically verified
who you were.

His questions were things
I knew about him

because I had been with him
for so long.

And that's when I was able
to get into his email.

And I found an email
saying that he was going

to South Korea.

Everything literally turned
upside down in the room.

It was like, I got him.
I know where he is.

So I was very excited

and then, first thing
in the morning,

showed up at the precinct
with this email.

Jeffrey Lee
was a South Korean native.

He was facing a charge
for forging Tiffany's signature

to obtain a passport to take
Kobe out of the country.

He was also facing
custodial interference

and international
kidnapping charges.

So I did airline checks,
manifest checks,

and I did determine that they
did take a commercial airline

to leave the country.

Once they were out of the
country, we could do nothing.

We needed assistance
from our federal partners,

the FBI
and State Department,

to find Kobe
and bring him back.

My hopes are up.

And they say, well,
it doesn't work that easily,

because South Korea
didn't sign on

to what's called
the Hague Convention,

which is an agreement made
between countries

that if a child is kidnapped
and taken to their country,

U.S. has jurisdiction
to basically

take those children back.

That greatly limited
the FBI's ability

to help Tiffany.

It could make it virtually
impossible for a parent

or an agency to retrieve
the child back

from an international
abduction.

My hopes are now
dashed because they're like,

we can't really do anything.

Oh, my God, I'm never
seeing my kid again.

I was getting desperate.

As far as I was concerned,
I wasn't gonna see my son

unless I actively
did something.

I need to shift into this mode
where it's like, OK,

I need to get this done
for my child, whatever it is.

And good morning
to all of you.

We are so glad to be
with you this morning.

Diane Sawyer here
with Robin Roberts.

OK, she wasn't saying
that about five seconds ago,

but she does--
she feels that way now.

My child was kidnapped,

but I can't do anything
to get him back.

This was a mother's
worst nightmare.

Then someone
that had seen the poster

connected me with Mark Miller.

He ran a nonprofit group,

and he helped families
rescue children

who were internationally
kidnapped, for free.

I was like, OK, well,
let me try this guy out.

And so I went to his website
and gave him a call.

- We're probably
in the neighborhood

of, like,
145 missing children,

something like that,
that we rescued.

Like most parents,
she just was, uh, desperate

to get her child back.

And I mentioned to Tiffany,

we would like to try
to help her.

Give me your information.

I'm gonna send you a packet.

I need information
of all his relatives

'cause we run them down.

- Having Mark with me
relieved so much stress.

All I knew is that Kobe
was in South Korea.

I had Myspace,
so it just made sense to me

to change my Myspace page
to a missing page for Kobe

and to set the location
in South Korea

so that people
in South Korea would see it

and, if they saw him,
would contact someone.

But who knows if anyone's
gonna see this

or if they'll even understand
what's going on on it?

It was an extremely long shot.

But what else could I do?

I was checking in
on my Myspace page regularly.

No one's getting
in touch with me.

And one day,
I got a notification saying,

you have a message.

It said, I'm an English
teacher at a Korean school.

I've seen your son.

So I was just like,
oh, my God.

Like, wow.

This week, Kobe was crying
and crying a lot.

He was teased
and bullied and beaten a lot

by the other classmates.

He's a really kind kid.

He loved everybody.

I mean, it k*lled me
as a parent, as a teacher.

It upset me.

It worried me.

And it made things feel
much more urgent,

like I needed to get him
out of there quickly.

- When we realized
that Tiffany's, um,

little boy, Kobe, was in, uh,
South Korea at this point,

now it was a matter of,
how are we gonna rescue him

without, you know,
notifying the authorities?

'Cause, uh, sometimes they--
it'll will backfire on you.

- And then they contacted me
a second time:

I do not have the power
to help him.

Only you have the power
to get him out

of his miserable situation.

I'm willing to help you in
any way, but please hurry.

You can't delay
and waste time.

I didn't know who he was.

The fact that he
kept pushing me,

I had no idea what to do next.

I did start kind of hounding
Mark a little bit more.

When are we gonna go?
What are we gonna do?

Tiffany was in a hurry.

But we can't hurry up, because
then you make mistakes,

and you can end up
in jail for years.

I advised Tiffany
that it could be very risky

to go to another country

and attempt to take
the child back.

It could be considered
as kidnapping,

and she could be possibly
facing charges herself

if caught.

- I don't know
if this is someone

who's genuinely trying
to help me

or if it's just Jeff
trying to set me up,

thinking I would go
over there on my own,

and then he would
have me arrested

for kidnapping or something.

I'd lose my custody
and my freedom.

I'm extremely nervous.

I'm worried.

And then I had a new message:

Hi, Tiffany.

To tell you the truth,
I have become nervous.

I gave all the info
to you,

but you seem
to not have done anything.

You are still in the U.S.

So I am almost beginning to
feel that I have done enough

and that I should just forget
about helping anymore.

My heart just dropped
when he sent me that email.

It was so hard,
because then you felt like,

oh, no, I'm not
gonna have this connection

to getting to Kobe.

One morning at like,
5:00, in the morning,

my cell phone rings.

Hey, Mom?

Mommy, it's Kobe.

And I hear him say,
Mommy, and I'm, like, shocked.

I didn't want him to panic.

So I didn't tell him,
your father kidnapped you.

I knew his father
was listening in,

and I could hear him
whispering.

It's like, oh, my God,
where are you?

I was like,
are you still in Korea?

And he's like, yeah.

I was like, I miss you.
I love you.

I might have cried
but not let it show, you know?

I just asked him questions that
could give me some information

about how he was doing,
where he was,

and their plans
and things like that.

He said, mom, we're gonna
be leaving the city soon,

and we're gonna be moving
to the country.

And I was like,
what do you mean?

He's like, we're gonna move
to the country.

And then I heard Jeff
whispering something like,

don't say that.

He said we had to go
because I guess

he was giving me
too much information.

I love you, Mom. Bye.

I was like, bye, I love you.
I love you too.

And he hung up.

I asked the teacher about it.

He was like, yeah,
if they go to the country,

there's no way you're ever
gonna be able to find him.

You can't really trace people
when they live

in the more rural areas
'cause they're so spread out

and just, like,
no real records.

Now it was like, we have
to get out there and get him

because there's no way, um,
I'll be able to find him

if we don't go
and get him right away.

Mark told me, OK,
we're gonna move this up.

We're gonna get
these things rolling

so we can get out there
as soon as possible.

My child was kidnapped, and
you're not keeping my child.

I was gonna get Kobe back.

It'd just be when, how, exactly
what--what's gonna happen.

But I was going there
to get him.

Mark got my ticket
there and back.

He paid for everything.

I was so nervous
and so worried

'cause I just didn't know
what was gonna happen.

I had to trust the teacher.

We really needed him.

I knew that I had
to get my son back,

so what was my alternative?

The best time for all
of us was to go in March.

We met, and it's
kind of surreal.

You know, it's just like,
here we are.

We're gonna go, and I believe
it's gonna happen.

But I don't guarantee
anybody anything.

Like I said, Tiffany,
I'm willing to go risk my life.

I can't guarantee we're gonna
get your child back.

I said, but I'm willing to go.

Ladies and gentlemen,

please observe
as I point out the features

of our safety briefing card.

It was a very long
flight, 13 or 14 hours.

The loose plan was, we fly in.

We get there Monday.

Then Tuesday through Thursday,
surveilling.

Friday is our ticket to leave,

so we do it all on Friday.

We go, get Kobe back,
get in a cab,

and go straight
to the embassy.

That was basically
a place of refuge for us.

I would be safe there bec--
as an American citizen.

The police couldn't do
anything about it

because I was on
American soil.

And then we fly out Friday.

At this
moment, you will be advised

that you will need
to turn off, unplug

your cellular,
electronics, laptops.

I'm a bundle of nerves.

Yeah, I was just worrying
the whole time.

I knew that I was breaking
the law for South Korea.

But it was my child
who had been taken from me,

So what did they
expect me to do?

Seoul felt like the
entire city was Times Square,

like, bright lights
everywhere.

- Ethnically
there was no variety.

So the only thing
that you saw

were South Korean people.

Anyone who's not
sticks out like a sore thumb.

We arrived at the hotel
maybe, like,

uh, 8:00 or 9:00 at night.

- The tunnel vision
really kicked in

from the time we got there.

You know, at this point,
I know I'm kind of

sitting and waiting
to meet the teacher.

Wasn't sure who he was.

I was like, OK,
maybe he just really

cares about what's
going on with Kobe,

or maybe he's somehow
working with Jeff.

I was just telling myself,

this is something
you got to get done.

I was very aware of the dangers
of the situation.

Then the teacher
came to the hotel.

I was just so happy
that he was real,

and I thank him profusely
for helping us.

I was
a public school teacher.

One of my best friends
told me about this kid

who was African American.

He only had the father
with him and nobody else.

And the father was, um,
Korean American.

And he was getting beaten up
in school every day,

and I wanted to do
something about it.

So I befriended Jeff.

He told us that he had
grabbed Kobe one day

and flown to Korea.

We researched through
the, uh, news in America,

and it was all over
the front pages.

The FBI was searching for him.

Basically Kobe had been
kidnapped from America.

- The teacher told us about
the school, how far it was,

and the time
that the school starts,

and this is the section
of the classes

where Kobe probably is.

- I told them,
meet me downstairs

at 6:00 a.m.
tomorrow morning,

and I will tell you exactly
what needs to be done.

That night, I was so nervous.

I'm watching TV to keep
my mind off of things.

I ordered from McDonald's.

I got, like, a shrimp burger
'cause I was really excited

that they had shrimp
in burger form.

The next morning,
we go to the school.

The only people in the school
at this time in the morning

are the cleaners.

- I knew I was gonna stick out
like a sore thumb,

so Mark decided that I would
just stay in the hotel room

until it was time
to go get Kobe.

So I'm kind of sitting
and waiting in this hotel room

till Friday.

- I felt if we were watching
where Kobe came from

that we could get him, like,
a block before school

and he'd just walk with us
and be happy to see his mom,

and that's what I wanted.

But the teacher said
this wasn't going to work.

- Most Korean children walk to
school at 7:30 in the morning.

They are accompanied
by grandparents and parents

and other Korean children.

And if they had tried
to grab Kobe,

they would have
ended up in prison.

So at this point,
the general plan was,

yes, we're gonna try to get
the child from the school

and go.

You know, I'd rather
not get him at school.

I had watched Jeff,
and I knew that Jeff would

go to the gym just down
the road from the school

every morning at 10:00 a.m.

Now, the gym he went to was on
the fifth floor of a building.

And looking out
through the glass windows,

you could see
over top of the school.

Classes begin in Korea
at 8:00 in the morning.

And if they had turned up
later than 8:00 a.m.,

I was really worried
that Jeff would see them.

How do we get the child
out of the school?

So that kind of, again,
put more emphasis on...

Uh, how, you know, dangerous
this case was.

I told them,
this is the door

that Tiffany has to go in.

I took them through the door,
up the stairs.

And on my right,
there was class 2-2,

and that was Kobe's classroom.

- After we talked
with the teacher,

then we went back
to the hotel.

I'd realized
that there's no need to do

another day of surveillance.

We have everything ready,
so why not do it the next day?

Oh, my goodness.
I was like, what?

'Cause then it was
suddenly real real, right?

It's actually going down
tomorrow.

I proceeded not to sleep
the whole night.

I knew that I was
breaking the law

for trying to kidnap my child.

I would be
in a Korean jail for years.

I was so scared.

Our plan was to get
there sometime before 8:00

'cause school was gonna be
starting then.

I would have to disguise
myself to get him,

um, so that I would not
stick out.

I had a hood on, hat,
sunglasses, and the mask,

so you couldn't see my face,

but you could see my hands.

It was April.
It wasn't exactly cold weather.

So wearing gloves
would look out of place.

So Mark got me makeup
that was

several shades lighter
than me.

But it was just odd sitting
there putting it in me,

like, every nook and cranny.

But I thought that if
it was the only way

I could get my son,
then that's what I had to do.

But it was weird
picking your hand up

and seeing a not-Black hand.

We left the hotel
around 7:00.

This is the mission
to get the child back,

and we're gonna do
whatever it takes.

Outside of the school,

there's a community park

that overlooks
the school playground.

I'm sitting on a bench,
waiting to hear back

if Kobe's spotted outside
so that we could get him.

But we didn't see him.

- You can do 100 cases, and you
still have the butterflies.

You still have the nervousness.

What happens if Kobe
don't go to school that day?

What happens if Jeff
takes him to school

and there's a security guard
that stops you

and you didn't get
the child back?

We're sitting there,
and we hear the first bell.

And the first bell
tells them to line up.

And then we hear
the second bell,

which tells them to go inside.

And then we saw Kobe
in the schoolyard.

So now I'm panicking

because I'm gonna have
to go inside to get him.

And so we waited up there
until we saw

all the kids go inside.

We don't wait too much,
though,

'cause first thing
in the morning

in a school
is so, like, hectic.

Everyone's trying to get
their things unpacked

and put their stuff away.

So I think it was
a great time to do it.

So I walk with Tiffany
into the school.

I thought, well,
if I'm gonna be stopped

for this kidnapping,
I could be in jail for years.

But we didn't meet anybody.

- So we go around
to the door

that they have planned
to go in through,

just pull it open.

No one there.

I just walk up the stairs.

Mark points out that it's
that classroom there.

Oh, my God.

I mean, it'd been seven months
since I had seen Kobe.

I mean, I wanted
to jump for joy,

but we were in the middle
of doing what we had to do,

so I just kind of
went into auto mode.

Let's get this done.

And then I pulled off
that stuff,

and I knock on the door.

And I'm calling him.
I'm like, Kobe.

And he doesn't hear me,
but it was noisy

unpacking his stuff
for the morning.

And then a little girl
yelled his name

and pointed to the door.

And then that's when he,
like, lit up

and was just like...
Mommy.

And he came
running to the door.

I knelt down
and gave him a hug.

And he's like,
what are you doing here?

It's like, I missed you.
And I gave him a huge hug.

There's no words
in the English language

that can explain
just how, like,

surprised I was
to see my mother.

I was incredibly lonely.

I didn't speak Korean.

They don't like me.

They bullied me.

I was overjoyed
when I saw her, yeah.

I was beside myself
in a good way.

She held on to me tight.

I'm pretty sure she was crying.

And then the teacher
came behind me,

and she said, Mommy?

I said, I'm his mommy.

And then she looked at Kobe,

and he's like,
yeah, she's my mommy.

And she's like, OK.

And she went into the classroom
and closed the door.

So I was just like, OK,
we're gonna go home.

- She comes past me,
and I'm walking down

the stairs with her like,
this is--this is awesome.

- "Rush" is too soft a word.

Like, we booked tail
out of that place.

Saw no one.

Not a person was around.

We were speed walking,
and I'm like,

why are we going so fast?

My mom was like,
oh, we just have to hurry up.

And I'm like, oh, OK.

At that point,
I make a beeline

to try to flag a taxi down.

- My biggest fear is that
the teacher would call

the principal
and then the principal

would freak out
and then call Jeff and say,

was his mother supposed
to pick him up today?

And then Jeff would be like,

his mother
is not even in the country.

And I know,
as a teacher myself,

that would lock down our city.

Like, a child was just taken
out of the school.

Lock everything down.

So we were just trying to move
as quickly as possible.

So there was a building--

I think it was
an apartment building--

right next to the school.

There's no one in there,
not a soul.

It was empty.

And they had, like,
a little lobby, I guess,

where we could change Kobe.

For a disguise, the idea was
that he look like a girl.

So I got as girly clothes
as I could get

that I could kind of
convince him would be for boys.

And he was not keen
on putting them on.

I'm a little kid;
I don't really understand

the gravity of the situation.

So I'm just like, I don't want
to dress up as a girl.

I'm gonna fight and fuss.

And I hate this,
and I don't want to wear this.

My mom's like--in her head,
she's probably like,

can you please hurry up
so we can go?

It took some convincing,

but, you know,
I think he could tell

we were rushing
and it was, like, urgent.

And so he was like, OK.

At some point,
I had gotten into my head,

like, the idea that, like,

I'm actually in disguise
like a spy.

I'm not sure if my mom
had told me this

or if it was just me
as a six-year-old

trying to rationalize why
I'm wearing, uh, a girl's wig.

If Kobe's not in that
classroom in 5, 10 minutes,

20 minutes, something
is gonna be triggered.

So I'm nervous
and trying to flag a taxi.

And I think it was maybe
2, 3 minutes,

but it maybe seemed like 10.

And then hurry up, get Tiffany
and Kobe in the, uh, cab.

And then we'd go
straight to the embassy.

Our troubles
had only just begun,

getting Kobe out of school.

We were now crawling
through heavy traffic.

It's nearly 11:20, and the
embassy closes at 11:30.

I'm looking at the clock.
10 more minutes or so.

We got to hurry because
there's all kind of police

surrounding the embassy
and all over.

So then how do you know
they're not gonna tip them off

and arrest us?

We just don't want
to get stopped right now.

We're so close.

Everyone was looking around

to make sure we weren't
being followed.

My emotions were fired up,

but I was trying to have
a normal conversation

so that the driver
wouldn't be like, oh,

they're kidnapping a child
here.

I don't know if I'd say
I was oblivious.

I just didn't care, uh,
that it was tense in the car.

But I remember thinking,
like, wherever we go,

like, I have to, like,
act like a spy, as in,

like, no one can know

that I'm, like, really a boy
and, like, undercover.

- You got to get
to point A to B to Z,

get to that embassy,
and then that's our hope

is that the embassy
will help us.

Please, we're at the mercy
of the people in the embassy

to help us.

I told them, do not try
to get into the front door

of the embassy
because there will be

a line of Korean soldiers
with machine g*ns.

Go around the back
of the embassy.

Once you get into the embassy,
the embassy will

get you out of the country.

So when we come
into the embassy,

a military guy
with a g*n comes up.

I was so nervous.

Mark reached over me
and showed him the poster

and said, we just recovered
a kidnapped child.

His eyes lit up, and he
was like, let them through.

We get inside, and there's
another military guy there.

OK, you just wait right here,

and they're, like,
surrounding us.

I could hardly breathe.

I was so tense.

I remember, like, my mom--

I think my mom was, like,
kind of shaking.

And I was like--like,
why is everyone so quiet?

This is scary.

And then
they made phone calls

and talked to someone
and verified,

oh, my God, this is legit.

Thank God there was
an FBI warrant,

'cause that's how the embassy
validified what we were doing.

The embassy worker,
they had to take Kobe aside

and interview him to make sure
I wasn't kidnapping him.

And I remember it was
this really nice lady.

I thought it was
pretty embarrassing that I was

a boy dressed up as a girl.

She asked me, do you want
to go with your mom

or stay with your dad?

I remember I was like,

well, I've been with my dad
for a while.

I want to go with my mom.

So I was just like,
I want to go with Mommy.

I haven't seen her
in a--in a long time,

and I miss my friends.

And so I was like, yeah,
I want to go with Mommy.

And she's like, OK.

Oh, my goodness.

I can't even begin to describe
how relieved I was.

Kobe and I got to play.

We got to have fun,
and just, like, we spent

a few hours
just having fun and enjoying

each other's company finally.

We took some silly pictures.

It was fun.
We had a good time.

And then they said
that they're gonna help us

get a passport and, um, you
know, get out of the country.

And they had made
the reservations to try

for us to leave that day.

And after that,
we took passport photos.

I remember finally
she's like, yes,

you can take your wig off now.

It's like, oh, thank God,
and I took off my wig.

I think I asked my mom.

I was like, what are we
taking these for?

She's like, so we can go home,
and that's when I was like,

oh, my God, wait,
I'm actually going home.

I was like, oh, my God, I have
so many stories to tell.

I'm gonna see
all my friends.

I'm gonna see my grandma.

I was so excited.

And then I had
to put the wig on again.

Then reality
came crashing in again.

The people at the embassy
told me that Jeff had called

and asked that we be detained.

He said that you can't leave.

You're kidnapping a child.

And they told him to come
on down and pick him up.

Of course, he knew
he couldn't do that

because he
would be arrested.

So at that point,

I was worried that he had
called the police.

I was breaking the law
for South Korea.

And so if we left the embassy,
we could be apprehended.

So we had to hurry.

The people in the embassy
were really good.

They gave us a car.

This is now
United States property,

so they couldn't
pull the car over.

I thought it was
the coolest thing

that we were in a black SUV
with tinted windows.

I remember it playing
into my spy fantasy.

I was like, oh, my God,
like, I'm in a--

like, I'm--this is like
the president's car.

The drive to the airport

was very nerve-racking
just because I knew

that once we got there,

then we weren't
really protected.

The embassy don't have any
jurisdiction in South Korea.

So if someone does come up
to you and they do arrest you,

they couldn't legally
stop them from doing it.

The embassy took us
to the airport.

They said that we're gonna try
to avoid the security

'cause they didn't want
to run into Jeff at this point.

So we get into the back door
and then take us up,

and we get to the counter.

And I notice they're
a little nervous too.

- I was worried
that the police could come,

and so I was looking around
for them.

The coast was clear,
but we still

had to get through customs.

If Jeff had notified
the police,

they wouldn't let us leave.

And when we got in
to customs,

they took all
of our passports.

And when they took
Kobe's passport,

they asked,
where's his father?

My heart just dropped.

I look at Mark,
and he looks at me.

It's just like,
this is not happening now.

We're almost done.

And then the embassy people
pull the guy aside.

They show them
the wanted poster.

They show that he was
abducted.

And the guy is basically
like, that's great,

but his father
has a fine to pay

'cause they
overstayed a visa.

They had a visa to stay there.

Like, oh, God, are they gonna
have to call the police?

But I think after speaking
to the embassy people,

they were like, OK, look, we
want nothing to do with this.

For him to leave the country,
he has to pay the fine.

So we asked how much
the fine was,

and it was, like,
100 American dollars.

So we paid it, and they're
like, OK, his fine is paid.

He can leave this country.

Now we're gonna
go to the gate.

The embassy person
comes up to me, he says, Mark,

Jeff's trying to put a warrant
out for your arrest.

If it comes through
and they stop this plane,

I'm sorry.

There's nothing else we can do.

I said, OK.

Oh, and at that point,
oh, God, help me.

I knew we're dead meat.

I didn't say
anything to anybody.

I didn't want
to frighten Tiffany or Kobe.

We're just waiting
for the plane.

I was sitting on the floor.

Kobe was sitting next to me.

I put Kobe's wig back on him

just in case anyone
could see him.

Mark was sitting up
in the chair,

and we're just all
just, like, looking around

and just trying
to keep our heads down,

like, don't notice us.

Felt like we were
waiting days.

It was the slowest,
slowest passing time ever.

There was a couple instances
where police were coming.

I'd just, like, poke up
and be like,

please don't be coming here.

My mom was
super tense and scared.

My mother remained covered up,
I believe, the whole time.

- And so they called to board.

And whew!

Uh, ladies and gentlemen,

your attention, please.

We're not safe
until we actually

leave Korean airspace.

So we're sitting there,
and then we see

a stewardess coming toward us

with a police officer
behind her.

And we're just like,
oh, my God.

She had a paper in her hand,
and she's

looking at the numbers
and looking at the paper.

And we're just like, oh, no.

We're so close.
No!

I can't believe they're going
to pull us off the plane.

It felt like it was forever.

Extremely slow motion.

My stomach was in a knot.

And Mark was praying,
and then she stopped

maybe three or two before us
and opened it

and pulled something out

and gave it
to the police officer

and closed it, and I was
just like, oh, thank God.

So once we knew
they weren't there for us,

we were like, OK, great.

So then finally,
we start to taxi.

And then we lift off.

And then they announce when
you leave Korean airspace.

And we're like, whoo.

Both of us were just
very happy.

We're like, thank you.
We're out of here.

I'm so drained.

It takes so much out of you.

And my stomach was in knots,
yeah.

As soon as we took off,

I remember
they were all, like,

smiling at each other
and, like, kind of laughing.

And they were--they were happy.

And I remember
also being allowed to finally

take my wig off,
'cause it was itchy as hell.

And then I went to sleep.

I was exhausted.

I mean, we knew
we were in the air.

They're not gonna turn around.

At that point,
I know we made it.

Now we're just
looking forward to landing.

- You know that breath you take

after things have been
like this the whole time

and you can finally
actually get a breath,

like, a deep breath?

That's what it felt like

'cause I finally
had him with me.

We got him back.

Yeah.

It was overwhelming
and exciting.

And I know Mark and I
both cried a little bit.

- I'm so happy,
I want to burst with such joy

that thank you, God,
we got this far.

I know we got the child,

but until I land, it's like--
kind of like,

I don't want to just, you know,
overreact with happiness.

I just couldn't wait to land

and couldn't wait to--
we get to New York.

Time to descend.

Ladies and gentlemen,

now we start our descent
to the airport.

Kobe!

- Here!
All right!

Kobe!

A joyful homecoming

after seven months
of fear and desperation.

The mother who went
on a daring undercover mission

to find her only child

after he was allegedly
kidnapped by his father.

A tip from the internet led
her halfway around the world.

And despite
the odds against her,

she brought her son back home.

- So we get to JFK
all excited, whoo.

There was, like,
news broadcasters there,

and my whole family
was there with, like, signs

and Kobe's friends saying,
you know, welcome home

and we miss you;
it was nice.

- They were all, like,
very excited to see me,

so they were just more
caught up on, oh, my God,

Kobe's back
and not, what is he wearing?

'Cause I--I--I didn't
have the wig on.

Once we landed,
it's like an ecstasy feeling.

You're just so excited

and so happy
that you got the child back.

We're here in America.

I always had a really
close relationship with Kobe,

but his father had made
my life a living hell.

So the silver lining was
that he was out of our lives.

And so I knew I wouldn't have
to worry about that anymore.

He told you--he just was like,
we're going to South Korea?

- No, he told me we were
going to Disneyland.

- Oh, he did tell you--

- Yeah, I didn't know--
I didn't know we were going--

- And then you guys
just landed in South Korea?

- And we landed in South Korea.
I woke up in South Korea.

Oh, my God.

I would have been like, yo,
this is not Disneyland.