Police understood early in their investigation of the disappearance of Mali and Liel Yahalomi last week that the two had intentionally fled Vienna, and issued a gag order on the case so they wouldn’t change their plans, according to Hebrew media outlets on Saturday.

The mother and daughter were found in Argentina, police said Friday, after their mysterious disappearance set off a flurry of speculation and rumors and a major international investigation.

According to reports, the two had begun planning their departure about a month ago and asked Gemini, Google’s AI chatbot, for advice about how to move to another location without being traced.

Investigators were able to get hold of their chatbot history, aiding in their probe, the Kan public broadcaster reported.

A day before leaving Israel, the mother withdrew about 14,000 euros ($16,300) in cash, reports said. After leaving Vienna, the two stopped in the Czech Republic, Austria and Germany before flying to South America. Upon arriving in Prague, they sent their family a video they had taken in Vienna. Then they turned off their phones, in order to block tracing of their movements, and began using new phones they purchased there.

A breakthrough in the investigation came when investigators determined that the women had boarded a flight from Frankfurt to Buenos Aires. After they landed, an Israeli police representative in South America, Walter Kogan, was alerted, and Argentine police stopped them using undercover vehicles.

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© The Times of Israel