the kids are “with friends”
THEN she left.
she probably plans on retrieving them.
The father can show up and take them home and she can do anything. He would be smart to stay out of the media, do the legal work and do what he has to do.
Did she say that the kids are with friends, or that they are being taken care of by friends? I thought it was the latter, which doesn’t necessarily mean that the kids are staying at the home(s) of friends.