Md. Man Turns Himself In; Children Unharmed

A Germantown man who reportedly had threatened to kill himself and his two young children was taken into custody overnight after state and local launched a regionwide search for him, authorities said this morning.

Police made phone contact with Navid Eghterafi Nanaf Abadi, 43, late last night, while he was driving with his daughter and son in Northern Virginia, Montgomery County police said.

Officers had left numerous phone messages for Eghterafi, and issued a public alert about the case yesterday after being told by a relative that Eghterafi had said he planned to drive to Ocean City and kill himself and the children. Sometime late last night, they either called him again, or he called them back.

Police said they convinced Eghterafi to drive from Interstate 66 to near the intersection of Interstate-270 and Interstate-370 in Montgomery County. Eghterafi was pulled over by police, and taken into custody without incident. The children--Anis, 8, and Juliette, 10--were then returned to their mother, and reported to be in good health.

Eghterafi was taken to a local hospital for observation. Police said no weapon was found in the vehicle, and Eghterafi did not did not confirm to police that he was planning to harm himself or the children.

Authorities said Eghterafi was depressed after losing a court battle on Friday to expand his custody of the children. In an interview, the children's mother said she and their father separated in 2000 and divorced two years later., she said.

The children's mother -- who spoke on condition that her name not be in the paper -- said Eghterafi shares custody and picked the children up from her home Saturday evening.

Eghterafi, of the 18800 block of Bent Willow Circle in Germantown, was scheduled to spend Father's Day with the children and then return them, the mother said. But she agreed to let them stay with him for a few extra days because she planned to work this week at the Montgomery County middle school where she teaches.

Court records indicate that the children's mother and father have a history of custody hearings, disputes and accusations.

The mother said she became worried about youngsters' safety after learning from her former mother-in-law that Eghterafi had mailed her his credit cards and passport before he went missing.

Police said Eghterafi was driving a 1998 silver Honda CRV with Maryland license plate number 427-M597 on Saturday. Montgomery police spokeswoman Lucille Bauer confirmed yesterday that he and the children were spotted over the weekend in the Deep Creek Lake area of Garrett County in Western Maryland. Staff researcher Meg Smith contributed to this report.