Custody Battle Escalates as Mother Seeks Help Locating Daughter

A custody dispute between professional dancer Gleb Savchenko and his ex-wife Elena Samodanova has intensified, with Samodanova requesting help from authorities to locate both her former husband and their teenage daughter somewhere in the Los Angeles area.

Court documents obtained by TMZ reveal that Samodanova filed a request with Hong Kong's Department of Justice seeking the return of 15-year-old Olivia to China. According to the filings, the case was subsequently transferred to a California District Attorney's office, where U.S. authorities are now working to locate Savchenko and the teenager before determining the next course of action.

The dispute centers on what Samodanova characterizes as a broken agreement. She states that Olivia arrived in Los Angeles on May 29 and was scheduled to return to Hong Kong on July 9. Samodanova included an email in her court filing that she says demonstrates Savchenko agreed to that return date. However, she asserts the teenager never returned home.

Communication barriers have compounded the situation, according to the court documents. Samodanova claims that Olivia's Hong Kong phone is no longer operational and that Savchenko has not provided her with the girl's new contact number. She states she can only reach her daughter through Instagram and does not know the teenager's current residential address in the Los Angeles area.

Savchenko, known for his appearances on "Dancing with the Stars," has presented a different narrative in the custody proceedings. He maintains that Olivia wishes to remain with him and attend school in Los Angeles. The professional dancer is seeking temporary custody and has alleged that Samodanova is attempting to wrongfully retain both Olivia and their younger daughter, Zlata, in Hong Kong.

Samodanova disputes those characterizations, asserting that Hong Kong serves as the girls' home. In her latest court filing, she is requesting that the California judge prevent Savchenko from enrolling Olivia in any Los Angeles-area school while the custody battle remains unresolved.

The former couple is scheduled to appear in a California courtroom for a hearing on Monday, August 18. However, the court documents indicate that Samodanova currently has no information regarding Savchenko's whereabouts as authorities work to locate him and Olivia.

The international nature of the custody dispute adds complexity to the legal proceedings, with jurisdictional questions spanning Hong Kong, China, and California. The involvement of both Hong Kong's Department of Justice and California authorities underscores the cross-border dimensions of the case.