The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department searched Thursday for an 8-year-old boy and his non-custodial mother, who is suspected of taking him from his elementary school in Carson.
Dylan Kostenko last was seen Tuesday at Towne Avenue Elementary School, 18924 Towne Ave. The boy’s foster mother arrived about 2:40 p.m. and was informed by school personnel that he had already been picked up by his biological mother, 29-year-old Dariia Kostenko, who lost custody of Dylan last May for undisclosed reasons, according to the sheriff’s department.
A court order allowed only monitored visitation and forbade the woman from picking the boy up at school, sheriff’s officials said.
Dylan and Kostenko were last seen walking north from the school in a residential area. The boy was wearing blue jean shorts and a black T-shirt with an image of a dog on it and the phrase “Dab All Day.” Kostenko was wearing a red hoodie.
It’s unclear where the woman might be headed. She has family in New York state and is known to frequent the West Los Angeles area, according to a sheriff’s statement. Authorities are concerned that she might leave the country.
“She is from the Ukraine, and at this point we have used our resources to make sure that she is not allowed to leave the country right now,” Detective Mike Carillo said at a mid-morning news conference at the sheriff’s Carson Station. “We have … exhausted all of our resources, and we’re coming to a point now where we’re looking for the public’s help.”
Anyone with information regarding their whereabouts was urged to call the sheriff’s Carson Station at (310) 830-1123. Anonymous tips can be submitted to Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-TIPS.