FBI Rescues Utah Child Taken to Cuba by Transgender Parent Fearing Gender Surgery, DOJ says

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has successfully rescued a 10-year-old child from Utah after the child was allegedly kidnapped and taken to Cuba by a transgender biological parent and her partner, amid growing concerns that the child was to be subjected to gender reassignment surgery before puberty . The child was reunited with the biological mother following an international operation, the Department of Justice announced in a statement.

Rose Inessa-Ethington, 42, the child’s biological father who transitioned to female after the child’s birth, and her partner Blue Inessa-Ethington, 32, also known as Carly Ann Crosby, are in federal custody facing charges of international parental kidnapping and aiding and abetting. According to the Justice Department, the couple is accused of fabricating a camping trip to Calgary, Canada, with the 10-year-old and Blue’s 3-year-old child on March 28, 2026, but instead diverting to Cuba via Mexico. The child was supposed to be returned to the biological mother, identified only as “LB” in court filings, on April 3, but the group had not been heard from since March 28.

According to the criminal complaint, investigators discovered that the group crossed the U.S.-Canada border on March 29, flew from Vancouver to Mexico City, and then traveled to Merida before flying to Havana on April 1 using their U.S. passports. A search of the couple’s residence revealed detailed “to-do” lists containing instructions to “learn Spanish,” obtain tourist visas, empty a specific bank account, withdraw $10,000, and put items in storage. FBI Special Agent Jennifer Waterfield detailed in an affidavit that notes were also found containing 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 the $10,000.

Court documents describe the child as a “10-year-old biological male who identifies as a female,” and family members expressed significant concerns to investigators that the child was manipulated by Rose Inessa-Ethington regarding her gender identity . “Concerns existed that the child was transported to Cuba for gender reassignment surgery prior to puberty,” the FBI stated, citing interviews with family members who largely believed the child’s identification as female was due to the parent’s influence.

On April 13, 2026, a Utah State Court ordered the immediate return of the 10-year-old to the biological mother and granted the mother exclusive custody of the child. Three days later, on April 16, Cuban law enforcement located the group in Cuba, leading to a coordinated effort involving the FBI, the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Services, and ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations in Havana.

The Trump administration took the unusual step of deploying a Department of Justice Boeing 757 aircraft directly to Cuba to retrieve the child, a move described by experts as “bizarre” and “highly unusual” for a parental kidnapping case. “This is bizarre, highly unusual. I’ve never heard of that happening,” said Jay Groob, president of American Investigative Services, a firm that assists in child custody and recovery cases. The plane landed in Cuba on Monday, and the suspects were deported and arraigned in federal court in Richmond, Virginia, before being transported to Utah for further proceedings.

“We are grateful to law enforcement for working swiftly to return the child to the biological mother,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa Holyoak for the District of Utah in a Department of Justice press release. “Our priority in every parental kidnapping case is the safety and well-being of the child. This case reflects the strength of partnerships in locating victims, supporting reunification, and ensuring accountability,” added Special Agent in Charge Robert Bohls of the Salt Lake City FBI.

Tess Davis, the attorney representing the child’s biological mother, told The New York Times that the issue of transition surgery was a recurring point of contention during the divorce proceedings between the parents. “I don’t think she ever imagined that Rose could do this until it was too late. She was worried about never seeing her child again,” Davis said. The child’s uncle, Steven Ethington, told the Times that Rose had been “pushing pretty vehemently” for the child to undergo transition surgery since the child was about five years old, adding, “Everything just seemed to be clearly coming from Rose. It was heartbreaking and hard for me to watch” . The case remains under investigation by the FBI Salt Lake City Field Office, and the defendants will be transported to the Orrin G. Hatch United States District Courthouse in Salt Lake City to face the pending charges.