and nermeen s father were in fact at the family-owned condominium north of san diego. they had flown there not knowing that afaf was the subject of an international arrest warrant for her part in aiding and abetting the kidnapping of adam and jason. we thought it was too good to be true. we didn t really think too much of it. but hey, what the heck? let s just go ahead and call out there. and sure enough, someone picked up the phone at their home in california. i called the fbi. i said they re in san diego at their house. i called the number. impossible. she s red-flagged. she can t get through customs. she can t get through i.n.s. i finally had the maryland state police call out there and a they were with pacific bell and electric company and ask for her. she picked up the phone. they got the san diego county sheriffs and they kicked the door in within an hour and arrested her. reporter: afaf khalifa spent one night in jail and then was extradited to maryland. you really thoug
knock your house down and they burn down your house. he s been watching too much of the israeli/palestinian thing. and she told me that they told jason, the younger boy, that their father had been killed in an accident when he was a baby, but that adam had told him different, that their father was still alive and he was living in america. after we returned from cairo, we got a phone call, too. adam, do you and jason want to see your dad? a young man on the other end said he was michael shannon s son, adam. most of that phone call was off the record. but he did allow us to record this about his mother, nermeen. she s a great, caring mother, very considerate. and she does whatever i ask. if i asked her at this moment to take me to the united states and give me a ticket, she would love, proudly do it, without
we ve all failed him because nothing has happened to get his children back. reporter: it is an international nightmare that began with a most american of love stories. in 1995 michael shannon was a computer specialist in chicago when his best friend invited him to a company softball game. the company was the engineering giant bechtel, and on that softball field he met a bechtel employee, nermeen khalifa, and fell in love. she was in your eyes american. americanized. yeah. i didn t find out until three months after we were dating that her father was born in cairo. reporter: her egyptian father was an extremely wealthy and powerful businessman who made sure his daughters, including nermeen, were born u.s. citizens. it wasn t long before michael shannon and nermeen khalifa were married.
hi, nermeen. this is drew griffin with cnn. reporter: it is a story very different than the tale being told in the united states. he basically, and according to the courts, feels that you ve kidnapped these children and have held them captive here for 12 years. i d like to explain my point of view. okay. reporter: when we come back, the woman wanted for kidnapping insists she is the real victim. hey guys! sorry we re late. did you run into traffic? no, just had to stop by the house to grab a few things. you stopped by the house? uh-huh. yea. alright, whenever you get your stuff, run upstairs, get cleaned up for dinner. you leave the house in good shape? yea. yea, of course. [ sportscaster talking on tv ]
left. see the picture above the bed? they were out of the country before we even knew they were gone. reporter: they had gone straight to new york, straight to jfk, straight to egypt air. and before michael shannon had even realized they were gone, nermeen khalifa, adam and jason, and their grandmother, afaf khalifa were landing in cairo. untouchable. confirmation would finally come at the most unlikely time. oh, yeah. i received a call from adam right after 9/11, and he said, i m not in america anymore. i m not even in new york. because he thought new york was a separate country. he was only 4 years old at the time. he says, when are you and pop-pop coming to get me? and i said, as soon as we can. reporter: shannon had every intention of doing just that. heading to egypt, armed with the