A mother in Barcelona has launched a desperate search for her seven-year-old daughter, Athina, who has been missing since 10 November 2025. The girl’s father, Albert I.A., failed to return her after a court ruling granted the mother exclusive custody, according to a police complaint seen by El Caso.
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Police are treating the disappearance as a case of parental child abduction. The mother, Abigail, a Filipino national, separated from Albert, a Spanish national born in 1999, in 2023. Their separation was reportedly acrimonious, with Abigail alleging a campaign of threats and abuse by her former partner.
A History of Threats and a Court’s Decision
Court documents reveal a troubled history leading up to the girl’s disappearance. In 2024, Abigail filed a complaint against Albert for gender-based violence. However, authorities archived the case due to insufficient evidence after Albert’s sister, a witness to an alleged assault, reportedly gave false testimony during the trial. Spain has a system of specialised Courts for Violence Against Women designed to handle such complex cases.
The situation escalated on 4 November 2025, when Abigail received a threatening message from Albert via Telegram. The message, which Albert set to auto-delete, included a photograph of Albert’s severely beaten uncle. Alongside the image was a chilling text: “This is how he ended up because of someone I hired, and this is how your family will end up if we don’t reach an agreement.”
Fearing for her family’s safety, Abigail recorded the message on another device and reported the threat to the Centre de Serveis Socials del Raval Nord. Social services advised her to file a report with the Mossos d’Esquadra, the Catalan police force.
Authorities held a fast-track trial on 9 November at the Ciutat de la Justícia. After reviewing the evidence of threats and coercion, the judge issued a 500-metre restraining order against Albert to protect Abigail. Crucially, the court also granted Abigail exclusive custody of Athina, stripping the father of any visitation rights and ordering him to pay child support.
The Disappearance and Investigation
Lawyers for both parties agreed on a handover plan. On 10 November, Albert was to take Athina to school, and Abigail would collect her at 5 p.m. However, when Abigail checked the school’s app, she saw that her daughter had not attended classes that day. Thinking the father simply wanted to spend his last few moments with his daughter, she went to the school at the agreed time.
After waiting for an hour, Abigail realised something was wrong. She discovered Albert had blocked her on Telegram and WhatsApp and was not responding to calls or emails. She immediately contacted her lawyer and went to a Mossos d’Esquadra station to report Albert for the alleged abduction of their daughter.
The last confirmed sighting of Athina was a day before her disappearance, on 9 November, at Sants station. The girl reportedly recognised a friend of her maternal grandmother and went to greet him. She was with her father, his new partner, an Ecuadorian national, and their 18-month-old son.
The Search Continues
The Mossos d’Esquadra’s Ciutat Vella investigative unit is now leading the case, coordinating with other police forces to locate the father and child. Police do not know if the family boarded a train at Sants, but sources consulted by El Caso suggest there is no record of the father having left Spain. Authorities have not publicly confirmed whether a warrant has been issued for his arrest.
The case bears similarities to another recent abduction in Catalonia. In December, her father took a five-year-old girl named Gina from El Prat de Llobregat; he also had a history of gender-based violence. He fled to Italy, but police located and arrested him ten days later, safely returning the child to her mother. In that case, the father received help from his family to hide the girl.
As weeks turn into a month, the search for Athina continues, with her mother left waiting for any news of her daughter’s whereabouts.
Anyone with information or experiencing a situation involving gender-based violence is urged to call 900 900 120. The helpline is free, confidential, does not appear on phone bills, and operates 24/7 in multiple languages.
