In late 2021, Jeff and ‘A’ had contact for the first time in 10 years after Jeff found her on Instagram and sent a message. ‘A’ says she was initially reluctant to reply to Jeff because Avigail had over many years painted him as a nasty and dangerous person who was best forgotten. Indeed, ‘A’ did end up with only vague memories of her past happy life in Australia, and had completely forgotten most of the meetings with Jeff in Russia when she lived with her grandparents.
Jeff was still in Russia when he first contacted ‘A’ but they then regularly communicated over a 12-month period using on-line video. ‘A’ described to Jeff in considerable detail the events of the previous 10 years of her life.
Jeff left Russia in October 2022 (because of his opposition to the war in Ukraine, and to give a presentation in New Delhi at the invitation of the Indian government on the relationship between Russia and China) and returned to Australia for a brief period before going to Israel.