Two year old Julie Troitsky disappeared from her home in Southampton the weekend before Thanksgiving, and it has been agony for her father every day since.
"It's kidnapping," said Max Troitsky. "It's child abuse and kidnapping."
Max Troitsky and his ex wife Anna were granted joint legal custody of Julie. Max moved out of the house, and Anna and Julie lived with Anna's mother Lena.
Max says the arrangement was working well until Max's mother got a call from Lena. She told her that Anna and she had taken Julie to her native Russia for a visit.
When Max went to his home, he quickly concluded they were never coming back.
In Julie's closet, only her smaller baby clothes were left.
"Everything is cleaned out, and my wife's closet looks the same way," said Troitsky.
Max says Anna had also taken all of their joint legal documents, including the deed to the house, and the title and keys to the car that still sits unusable in the driveway.
Max has had no contact for weeks with his most precious possession.
"She's always smiling, dancing. She loved reading, loved her stuffed animals. So, she was happy. We had a great bond," Troitsky said.
Now, Julie is 5,000 miles away in Moscow.
Anna and Julie had been staying at Lena's apartment.
Max asked the US embassy for help, and they confirm they have been in contact with Anna. But, Max says the embassy has told him that Anna has stopped responding to their calls.
We also tried to find Anna at the apartment and got no response.
We did manage to talk to Anna's mother, Lena, who answered the phone at the apartment.
Lena says Anna only intended to stay for two days, but the airline won't let her return to the United States because she doesn't have a passport for Julie.
Max's lawyer says that doesn't make sense since Julie would have needed a passport to leave the US.
"We believe that Anna requested a Russian passport from the Russian embassy, and it seems to be that she had Julie's name added to that passport," said Max's attorney Jeff Leibmann.
Max now fears that Anna may be hiding with Julie at another relative's home. He doesn't want Anna arrested. He just wants his daughter back.
Max is going through diplomatic channels, hoping to pressure Russia into honoring an international treaty that would enforce the court ordered joint legal custody.
Max has set up a website, Help Bring Julie Home, hoping public pressure will help.
"I saw her every week. We went to the playground. We, you know, just had sort of great father-daughter bonding moments. And, you know, just, it was taken away," said Max.
