Cops in Argentina are looking for an eight-year-old boy believed to have been kidnapped by his Russian father, said to have a criminal record for family violence and to be suffering from psychiatric problems – including apparently believing he is the messiah.

The incident took place in the municipality of Anelo in Neuquen Province in Argentina.

Erik Zaitsev Rusakov, 8, went missing on Monday afternoon (10th January) and investigators believe he might have been kidnapped by his father, Adrian Zaitsev, a Russian citizen who had since Saturday, 8th January, been at the house where the victim lived with his mother’s family, after the boy’s mother went to Bolivia in August last year.

The head of the Anelo Security Directorate, Commissioner Claudio Vinet, said that a case had been opened, adding that the boy’s family members had warned that his father, who can be seen in this photo with long hair and a long beard similar to depictions of Jesus Christ, suffered from psychiatric problems.

According to the Neuquen police, the father had already been imprisoned in a Bolivian jail for “family violence”. He later reportedly proclaimed himself “an envoy of God”.

Zaitsev was arrested in the Bolivian city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra for domestic violence on 19th February 2020. Police reportedly found ammunition – but no gun – among his belongings.

When the officers asked him if he had hit his wife, he reportedly answered “yes” and said he had done it on purpose to go back to the Palmasola jail.

Behind bars, his hands and feet were allegedly pierced, and he had a wound on his side. He reportedly said that some Russians had come and crucified him, but that he had survived.

In 2016, local media had interviewed him and his family members, who lived in a neighbourhood on the banks of the Neuquen River. There were about 20 people there who were reportedly dedicated to the cultivation of organic vegetables and traditional medicine.

The police are actively searching for Zaitsev, who remains at large, and his son.