Iva Mihaylova, a defendant in a car crash case in North Macedonia, says on Facebook that her grandmother has been abducted. She says the woman was detained on the North Macedonian side of the Delchevo border crossing while travelling from Bulgaria to North Macedonia.

"We still don't know where she is!" Mihaylova wrote. She added: "I last spoke to her shortly after she was detained at the Delchevo border on the Macedonian side. Her voice was trembling with fear!"

The background: Kochani prosecutors ask court to jail Iva Mihaylova, who is in Bulgaria

The elderly woman's phone first rang unanswered, then was switched off. Mihaylova's lawyer contacted North Macedonia's interior ministry, but it is giving no information.

The case became public on 12 October, when it emerged that Mihaylova was in Bulgaria. She was admitted to Pirogov hospital the same day, and her appearance there strained relations between Sofia and Skopje. Bulgarian interior minister Ivan Demerdzhiev said the ministry would question her on how she crossed the border. Two days later, prosecutors in Kocani asked for her to be held in custody.

Mihaylova is charged with a serious crime against road traffic safety. The crash happened in early October 2025, and several people were hurt, including her.

At the latest hearing yesterday, the Basic Court in Kocani granted the prosecutors' request and ordered her held for 30 days. North Macedonia's interior ministry put out an international wanted notice for Mihaylova.

Mihaylova and her lawyer Nikolay Dimitrov told Bulgarian media that they entered Bulgaria through a border crossing. They say she showed both her ID cards, North Macedonian and Bulgarian, on entry.

North Macedonia's interior ministry said the border police system has no record of Mihaylova leaving the country.