>> reporter: a judge heard the case and sentenced afaf khalifa to ten years in prison on multiple counts. a sentence later reduced to three years. a 60-year-old woman, she began serving her time here at the maryland women's prison in jessup, maryland. 14 months passed. then afaf khalifa, the only bargaining chip michael shannon had left to get back his children, disappeared. >> she was suddenly gone. >> reporter: deported back to egypt. before the state of maryland, before the prosecuting attorneys, before even michael shannon knew she'd been released from prison. >> were you notified? >> no. no. the office was not notified that she'd been paroled, nor that there would be any action taken by immigration officials. at the time. >> reporter: if you're wondering how that could have happened,