Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Mom Says Tot Girl Oakley Carlson 'EATEN BY WOLVES'

Episode Date: July 28, 2022

The search for Oakley Carlson is still underway. The little girl has not been seen in over a year.  Carlson is just 9 months old when she is placed with foster parents  Jamie Jo and Erick Hiles. Over the next two years, the little girl becomes part of the family, but then November 2019,  Washington's Department of Children Youth and Families (DCYF) reunites Carlson with her biological parents, Jordan Bowers and Andrew Carlson. 9 months later, Oakley is missing but no one knows.  The last confirmed sighting of Oakley Carlson is in February 2021, but the little girl isn’t reported missing until December 2021... that’s when a fire damages the family’s home forcing them to temporarily relocate.  A local school principal gets concerned after talking with one of Oakley’s siblings. Oakley’s 6-year-old sister tells the principal’s daughter “Oakley is no more,” that she  “had gone out into the woods and had been eaten by wolves.”  Anyone with information on Oakley should call the sheriff’s office at [phone]. You can also contact Detective Sgt. Paul Logan at [phone] or email [e-mail].  Joining Nancy Grace today Jamie Jo Hiles, former foster Mother    Sarah Ford - Legal Director, South Carolina Victim Assistance Network, SCvanLegal.org,  Former Prosecutor focusing on Crimes Against Women and Children, Facebook: "SCVAN Legal Services Program", Adjunct Professor, Claflin University & South Carolina State University Dr. Bethany Marshall - Psychoanalyst (Beverly Hills, CA), DrBethanyMarshall.com, New Netflix show: 'Bling Empire' (Beverly Hills) Karen L. Smith - Forensic Expert, Lecturer at the University of Florida, Host of Shattered Souls Podcast, @KarensForensic, barebonesforensic.com Stephanie Pagones - Crime Reporter, Fox News Digital, Twitter: @steph_pagones  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. How can a five-year-old little girl go missing for weeks before anyone notices? Why are all the documents surrounding the search for this five year old little girl and her history being kept shrouded in secrecy? Where is Oakley Carlson? I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us here at Fox Nation and Sirius XM 111, where we still care about unsolved homicides and missing people, especially children. First of all, take a listen to this. We've asked help from

numerous search and rescue groups to come search the entire property, which is hundreds of acres. Investigators with the Grays Harbor Sheriff's Office, as well as Washington State Patrol and the FBI were seen searching the sprawling property Wednesday afternoon. Johansson believes people within nearby communities may be just as helpful. We're hoping that somebody might have a little bit of information that can shed light on the location of Oakley and how she is. Johansen says investigators are also trying to learn more about Bowers and Carlson, all in an effort to find Oakley. If you know where Oakley's at, please call 9-1-1 immediately. If you have seen Oakley with her parents or even in other locations, we want to call.

We want to talk to you. We want to know what you know so that we can get as much information as we can to hopefully locate Oakley safe. You're not only hearing local law enforcement. You are hearing our friends at King 5. How did this little girl go missing? The search now is honing in on various areas to no avail. What happened? Where is Oakley?

With me, an all-star panel to make sense of what we know right now. But first, I want to go to a very special guest joining us. This is Oakley's foster mom, Jamie Jo Hiles. Ms. Hiles, thank you for being with us. Thank you so much for having me on the show, Nancy. Ms. Hiles, I find it very, very I don't know the right word, moving,

probative, heart-breaking, gut-wrenching. When you discovered that we here at Crime Stories were searching, are searching for Oakley. You reached out. You are looking for Oakley.

You want to be heard. And that tells me that this little girl was and is loved deeply. And I want to thank you for that. Tell me, how did Oakley come into your life? So I am a high school teacher. And one day in 2017, I had a former student text me. And my husband and I have struggled with infertility for about 10 years. And that former student knew that we wanted a child.

And she said, hey, my hairdresser's grandbaby needs a home. It's probably going to lead to adoption. Are you interested? It was a very unconventional way to become a foster parent or a parent. But I just looked at my husband who was sitting next to me on the couch, and I was like, let's do it. And then a couple weeks later, we had Oakley with us. Okay, slow it down.

Because that sounds like a made-for-TV movie. It does. You're this fantastic high school teacher. What do you teach? I teach a senior class on how to do job interviews and how to apply for college. And I also teach business English. And out of the blue, you, after trying to have a child for years, you get a call that says, my grandmother's, what, hairstylist?

How did it go? My hairdresser's grandbaby needs a home. So this gal's hairdresser, I guess, must have been telling her when she was getting her hair done, like, hey, if you know anybody, and this former student immediately thought of me and my husband Eric. Well, first of all, I praise the Lord in heaven that you entered into the picture, that providence, serendipity, the Lord had had his hand on you and you got to have oakley but i also find it kind of weird it's like um somebody says hey my cat just had kittens you want one yeah or i've got one cat left or one puppy left you it? It's kind of weird and for the moment, wonderful that this happened

and baby Oakley fell in your lap. You know, I just got to tell you, not a lot of parents, not a lot of adults would just take on a baby because they go, oh, was the mom on drugs? Was the mom drinking during pregnancy? Oh, gonna have these problems you took Oakley with an open heart did you not oh definitely can you tell me about the first time you saw Oakley in person yeah yeah um so I I remember we talked with um a friend that had taken Oakley into like the emergency care because a lot of the times in foster care, you might go into an emergency placement just for a temporary time until you're placed into a more like permanent situation. And so the gal that had her in the emergency placement situation brought her over

to my house. And knowing that we were going to probably get Oakley to come live with us, like I knew that she was close to like the nine month size or like, I imagine that she was close to the nine month size. And when she came over the very first time, um, she was like a very healthy, like size 24 month baby, um, quite a bit bigger than I was expecting. And I remember just thinking like, she is so cute and I have to go buy all new clothes because I totally bought the wrong clothes.

And she just was so happy. And just, I mean, not afraid of us at all from day one. Just beautiful, happy, and just an overall like easy, good baby. I'm just taking in everything that you're saying and how old was Oakley when you got her so I first met her at about like seven months and then she came to us like on the books with the state at eight months old tell me about her little personality oh my gosh she was such a joy she always was smiling um she was kind kind. I didn't ever have to tell her, like, hey, that's not nice.

We don't hit. Because if it happened once, she knew not to do it again. We just were really big on kindness, and I felt like she emulated that. She was funny. She enjoyed making people laugh. I felt like she didn't really know any strangers I coach a dance team at the high school where I teach and she just knew all of my uh dance team members by name she would go up to them if she came to practice with me and she would ask them questions or she would go sit with

sit with the team as they stretched she just wasn't a stranger to anybody did you want to keep Oakley forever absolutely and the sad thing is is that like she she would tell me Did you want to keep Oakley forever? Absolutely. And the sad thing is, is that like, she, she would tell me like, I want to stay with you forever. I want to stay with you and daddy forever. And that's really hard because I would, I would never have talked poorly about her biological parents or anybody to her. But I also, I did tell her like, you know, you didn't grow in my belly, but you grew in my heart. So she was very aware that she was not biologically mine, but that I would have loved to have had her stay with us. And, you know, if that opportunity had come up, we absolutely would have adopted her with no questions asked. You know, there's just something about it.

Jamie Jo Hiles. Jamie Jo is Oakley's foster mom who desperately, desperately wanted to keep Oakley forever. You know, the other morning, and I do it to my son too, but just this morning, I hugged my daughter so tight and was thinking, oh, I want you with me forever. And I've said it, but then I quit saying it because I don't want them to think, gee, I don't want them to grow up and go to college and be successful and have their own life. but I really secretly do want them to stay with me forever

because there's just nothing like a mother's love. I mean, not discounting my husband's love. I'm sure it's wonderful, but I just can't imagine anything more powerful of an earthly nature than a mother's love. There's nothing like it. Just, did you ever feel like you were just completely in love with Oakley? Oh, I felt like something weird happened and that she was biologically my child and I just like didn't even know it because the connection that we had was so strong and it just was, you know, obviously like I would do anything for Oakley and I

still would do anything for Oakley but you know I my love for her is undying and there were no limits or bounds or anything for her I just I'm so grateful that I got to even experience her. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. What happened, Jamie Jo? Why isn't she with you right now? How did you somehow lose Oakland? That's a really good question. I honestly, I know it's because Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families, I know in the beginning of Oakley's case that there was a misstep done by Oakley's social worker.

And because something wasn't filed or something wasn't said correctly, Oakley's biological mother basically got to appeal the decision for dependency and this went to a different court and once it went to a different court and it was overturned that then reset the clock so instead of us having this like two and a half year time with Oakley the state then started to view it as the clock starting over at six months. And if the parents have their things together within those six months, the return home to the biological parents begins. Do you remember the day they took Oakley away? Oh my gosh, yes. What happened? So it was the day after Thanksgiving in 2019. And so obviously Thanksgiving was very sad for us that year because, you know, we knew it was a goodbye to all of our families.

And so the day that Oakley went home, we were told that a driver would come by at 10 a.m. and pick both Oakley and her belongings up. So, you know, my husband and I, we just tried to have a normal morning with her. And obviously my husband Eric and I were upset. We were kind of teary-eyed through most of the day. And she didn't understand why, even though we tried to explain to her, like, what was happening. But it was just very emotional. And then finally at, you know, 10 o'clock, the driver showed up. And that's, you know, just something I don't think I'll ever forget because I hugged her so tightly. I just didn't want to let her go.

And then I passed her to Eric, and Eric hugged her. And then I grabbed her again, and I hugged her. And, you know, of course, we're crying. And she's just telling me, like, grownups, come back. It's okay. Like back it's okay like it's okay she's quoting Daniel Tiger to me knowing that that's what I do to her when she would get scared and I I just was so sad because I just knew that this would be the last time I'd ever see her what do you mean grown-ups come back there's a really amazing song uh from the Daniel Tiger show that Oakley just loved it's modeled after Daniel, I guess Daniel Tiger's neighborhood,

but and it is a song called grownups come back. So when a child is anxious that maybe they're left with a babysitter or like their parent steps away for a little bit and they're at daycare, there's a song called grownups come back. And I would always sing into Oakley and just remind her like, I'm going to come back. I'll get you like don't worry um and that would kind of always calm her nerves when I was leaving to go to school or you know if I had to like when I took her to dance class for the first couple months and left the studio um I would always just remind her like grown-ups come

back so um you know here she is trying to use my own calming technique on me and tell me, like, grown-ups, come back. It's okay. Everything's okay. So it was a really emotional time. And then she drove off and we shut the door and went upstairs, shut her bedroom door for about six or seven months, and that was kind of it. Just hearing you, it makes me feel sick to my stomach. The thought of someone taking your child,

and you just shut the door and try to shut off that part of your life. Just take a listen to our friends at CrimeOnline.com. Oakley Carlson is just eight months old when she's placed with foster parents Jamie Jo and Eric Hiles. Over the next two years, the little girl becomes part of the family. But then November 2019, Washington's Department of Children, Youth and Family reunites Carlson with her biological parents, Jordan Bowers and Andrew Carlson. Nine months later, Oakley is missing, but no one knows. Okay, let me understand with me an all-star panel to make sense of what we know right now. Suddenly, Oakley goes missing. To Stephanie Pagonis joining us, investigative crime reporter with Fox News Digital.

Stephanie, how long after baby Oakley leaves her foster mom, Jamie Jo Hiles, and is returned to her bio mom and dad, does she go missing? So as we just discussed, Oakley was returned to her biological family in November 2019. Fast forward about a year, December 25, 2020, Christmas Day. Oakley's grandparents saw Oakley and they reported that she didn't look well. They say she had dark circles under her eyes, pale skin, and that she had sores and scratches on her face. Fast forward again to february 2021 that's when someone who was close to the family reports that she was last seen alive before this investigators had thought oakley was last seen on january 27th of that year so this advanced the

story about a couple weeks okay hold on she oakley leaves, Oakley, leaves Jamie Jo Hiles when? November 2019. What, Jamie Jo? Yeah, November of 2019. Okay, that's right, the day after Thanksgiving. And then when did the grandparents see her? The grandparents saw her on Christmas Day 2020, so December 25th, 2020. So one year later, and she was pale with dark circles. On Feb 21, who saw her? February 10th, 2021, someone who was associated with the family saw her, although police have not specifically identified that person. And that is the last person who was believed to have seen her. Where was she when she was seen in February of 21, Stephanie Pagonis? That's unclear at this time, or at least police have not provided too many specifics regarding

that time. What happened between Thanksgiving 2019 and Christmas 2020, just one year later, one year of living with her bio parents, Jordan Bowers and Andrew Carlson. We may never know, but I do know this. Take a listen to our friend Jennifer Lee at Fox 13. Under Sheriff Brad Johansson says Bowers and Carlson claim they last saw Oakley alive on November 30th. Investigators also questioned Oakley's nine-year-old brother who said, quote, Jordan would put Oakley in the closet, possibly under a stairwell, and has witnessed Jordan beat Oakley with a belt and has been worried about her starving. And Oakley's six-year-old sister said during a forensic interview with a child advocate, quote, her mother Jordan had told her not to talk about Oakley. She had gone out into the woods and had been eaten by wolves. After interviewing the parents and the children involved,

one of the child involved is a six-year-old female, and she advised that her sister was no longer around because she was eaten by wolves did mommy say that to sarah ford joining us special guest legal director south carolina victims assistance network uh adjunct professor at clawflin university and south carolina state sarah ford thank you for being with us. Sarah, in many codified areas of the law, what I mean by that is it's not just case law, it's actually in the criminal code. Children's testimony is equated, and I quote, with imbeciles. I, however, have found that child witnesses are some of the most believable witnesses I have ever put on the stand, ever, because they do not necessarily have the wherewithal

to lie or be as cunning as the adult human of the species. Did you hear what the little brother said? That Oakley would be put in a closet under the stairwell, that the bio mom beat Oakley with a belt, and that in another interview, a six year old sister said, mom, bio mom, Jordan Bowers, told the children don't speak of Oakley. She went in the woods and was eaten by wolves. You know what? I bet a jury would believe her, Sarah Ford. I bet they would too, Nancy. You know, for children to go into a forensic interview, you know, the counselor who's doing the interview is trained to talk with these children, not to lead them, not to guide them, but to let the children, you know, lead the discussion. And for these kids to come out and say these things during this forensic interview is alarming and startling and completely just it's mind blowing that that they have not been able to gather any more evidence to actually prosecute these parents for at minimum child abuse towards Oakley. Child abuse, neglect, ending in obvious death. Hold on, Dr. Bethany Marshall, right now,

I just want to snap both the parents' heads off. I swear, if I could get my hands on them, I would try and ring their necks. Jamie Jo Hiles, before I go to our renowned psychoanalyst Dr. Bethany Marshall when did you hear this fabrication that after

Oakley's missing that she had gone into the woods and been eaten by wolves right there in Oakville, Washington so on December 6th 2021 that's when I received a phone call from the Department of Children, Youth, and Families asking if I could take Oakley's little brother and when they found Oakley, if I could also take her in, which of course,

that's an absolute yes. So I didn't know that it was to this level of Oakley like being missing. I thought maybe she just was like at a different location or with like a friend of the family um DCYF never told me that Oakley was missing and they still never have told me that she was missing um I was in Target the next day December 7th buying clothes for her little brother and buying like things for Oakley also when a friend called me and she said like, hey, I'm watching, you know, the court right now on YouTube and Oakley's bio parents are on it. And you need to like watch it because they're asking where Oakley is. And I thought, okay, like, well, we all, you know, we're all wondering where Oakley is, but not to this magnitude, not of a missing child.

And I about fell to my knees in Target. Jamie Jo Hiles, I can imagine you at Target falling to your knees when you realize you're just not waiting for Oakley to come from her parents. You're not just waiting for her to come from another foster home. Nobody can find Oakley. No one can find her, and the parents are being questioned about where she is. When did you hear that her biological mother said, oh, she went in the woods and got eaten by wolves?

When did you learn that lie? So I believe it was on December 9th. The city of Oakville held a vigil for Oakley and it was beautiful. On the way home from the vigil, I was reading the police reports and news reports that were put out to the public. And that is where I read that line. And talk about a gut punch. Like, it just made me feel sick. And they knew you wanted Oakley. They knew you didn't want to give her up. Who in the hay ordered Oakley from you to that,

I didn't even use the word, mother. Whose idea was that? I, before Oakley returned home, my husband and I met with the social worker and her supervisor. They were very cold and just unwelcoming. They basically expressed that she wasn't my daughter to get over it and thanks for doing what we had done, but Oakley was going back no matter what. So when I think about the bitterness that I have in this whole situation, obviously, I'm very angry at Oakley's biological parents for the abuse that she endured. But I'm also really upset with Washington State Department of Children, Youth and Families, her social worker, the supervisor, and the judge that signed off on this, knowing the history of domestic violence, manipulation, drug use, all those things things can i ask you a question

yes jamie joe do you remember their names yes i do what are their names and i just for the record you didn't volunteer this i'm asking what are their names i just i never give their names out just because like i i feel like if i give out their names, then people are going to like go after them like with death threats. And that scares me. So I've never publicly released any names of the social worker. I believe that all of them are still working for the state, though, in Grace Harbor County. Are you not giving me their names? No, I don't want to get in trouble.

You, okay. You know what, Jamie Jo, you're such a good person. You really are. You're a much better person than I am. Because I want them fired. I don't only just want them fired. I want them prosecuted, and I want them behind bars. If anybody on this panel knows the names, I would like the names.

Sydney, Jackie, if you have the names, can you hand them to me quickly? She's in search. Great. Because why should that be kept secret? Right. They tell you, you're not the bio mom. You need to remember that. It doesn't matter what happens.

She's going home to bio mom. And now I believe Oakley is dead. And I believe Oakley was tortured, starved, beaten, and murdered. And I don't believe in secret proceedings. And not in this country anyway. Maybe in some third world country there is no open courtroom or no open procedures like we have here. But sunshine is the best detergent. And that is why our founding fathers went to such great extent to ensure an open courtroom where the public could see justice unfold. Dr. Bethany Marshall, Jamie Jo, is a much better person than me because I want to snap the heads off both of these parents

and I personally want to prosecute the social worker, child protection, and you know I'm doing air quotas right now, and the boss that stood by and let this happen to an innocent little girl. Nancy, I'm actually having chills up my spine, this whole story. I mean, there's so much to say about this story, but this happened to a patient of mine. Single dad,

he was approached to adopt his sister who had a drug problem. His sister kept having baby after baby. He was approached to adopt or to foster one of the babies. He was not really prepared or wanting to be a dad, but he reluctantly took in this little baby, raised her until she was three. This was in Washington State. The little girl was removed ruthlessly from him and returned back to his sister's household when she cleaned up temporarily. She went back on drugs, went into a group home, took the little girl with her.

And every time he visited his daughter, she had deteriorated and deteriorated and deteriorated. And his mental health deteriorated, too, because he saw his daughter deteriorating under somebody else's care. This was Washington State. I followed this case for years and it was so heartbreaking. You know, the fact that Oakley was working so hard as a little girl to understand that she didn't come from mommy's tummy, but she came from mommy's heart. And she had a life and she had friends. And then she's returned to bio mom used as a meal ticket. She's used as a meal ticket, Nancy. Did you see the pictures of her parents, the mug shots? Her dad has sores all over his face. He's a meth addict. This is not a family who's fit to take care of children.

She was just a meal ticket to them. She was a way to get benefits from the state, and that's it. She was used. And I guarantee you, a close inspection would reveal that Oakley was missing and the parents, the bio parents, kept getting benefits for the child. Guys, take a listen to our friends at CrimeOnline.com. The last confirmed sighting of Oakley Carlson is in February 2021, but the little girl isn't reported missing until December 2021. That's when a fire damages the family's home, forcing them to relocate. A local school principal gets concerned after talking with one of Oakley's siblings. Oakley's six-year-old sister tells the principal's daughter, Oakley is no more, that she had gone into the woods and had been eaten by wolves.

The little girl has also been reportedly told by her mother, Jordan Bowers, to not talk about Oakley. On December 6th, Oakley's fifth birthday, police are sent out to do a welfare check. Okay, let me understand this. Joining me is Stephanie Pagonis, investigative reporter at Fox News Digital. So, Oakley is seen Feb 2021. Fast forward about 10 months. The little girl is not reported missing until December 2021. And that is when fire damages force the family to relocate.

And when they do, out comes the story that Oakley has been eaten by wolves. So for all that time period, nearly a year, her bio parents don't report her missing? That's correct. In fact, Oakley's father, Andrew, does not actually report her missing until after police prod him for information. And at that time, he makes limited statements, including to the effect that Oakley is either dead or not coming back for a reunion, according to court documents.

Who said that, Stephanie? That was Andrew Carlson. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace That is the Bio Dad. Joining me right now, special guest, forensic expert, lecturer at University of Florida and host of a hit series, Shattered Souls Podcast, and you can find it on all sorts of platforms. You can find her at Karen's Forensic or at barebonesforensic.com.

Karen L. Smith. Karen, this is a forensic nightmare because where Oakley was being, I'm just going to say held, away from her foster mom that loved her, that took care of her, that wanted her, that got gut punched when she was taken away. She was in this hellhole with bio parents who I believe are high on meth, that abused, tortured, starved, and murdered her. There, I said it. So how are we going to prove it? What possible forensic evidence is there after

the home was burned to an extent that they had to relocate? Right. And there are forensic aspects of this that I question, Nancy. In December of 2021, there was a fire at the Bioparents house they relocated. Now, in pursuit of evidence, the police did a search of that house. And I quote, there was also blood spatter on the blinds near the front door, on the front door, and a handprint on the wall in the downstairs hallway. This is really concerning. Was there enough blood there to be indicative of foul play? Spatter is a term that's used when there's some type of force behind that blood. So the next question to answer is what may have caused that spatter pattern? Could any conclusions or even a hypothesis be formed based on what they saw and

how much blood spatter was there? Was that handprint that they saw in blood, did they recover it or process it to make an identification? Could the size of that handprint help to eliminate the adults or the children in the household? Was DNA testing completed on that blood? Was the lab able to determine if that blood was Oakleaf or another family member? It was sort of glossed over. And to me as a forensic analyst, that's key to this whole thing. Based on what I've heard, based on what you called a hellhole that she was living in, this is so indicative of so many cases that I covered, Nancy. It's like textbook. And it's breaking my heart to know something happened in that house. Do I think the fire was convenient? Possibly. Possibly. To cover up evidence? Yes. Okay, hold on. You're giving me so much incredible information, and this would be what is needed to prove a case in court. Let's start again, if you don't mind, for those that are not forensics experts like you, Karen L. Smith, let's talk again about the blood evidence.

Repeat. Right. So the detectives did an initial search of the house after the fire. And there is in quotes, there was also blood spatter on the blind near the front door, on the front door, and a handprint on the wall and the downstairs hallways. There's no more information about that.

That was glossed over in the reports. Well, to me, that's key. When you have spatter, spatter, blood is, when it's liquid, if it's impacted, if there's a force behind it, it leaves a pattern called spatter. But without any more information, I don't know how much there was. What were the size of the droplet? That's indicative of how much force was behind it. The smaller the droplets, the more force. How much was there? Was it located near the floor in the middle of the room? Was it at the height of, God forbid, a child? Where was it? The handprint. Was the handprint processed with

powder? Was it something other than blood? Or was this handprint in blood? And how was it processed? Whose handprint was it? Were there any rich detail parts that could be identified to a specific person? These are forensic leads that they were red flags to me. Who left the blood? How did it get there? Was there an implement found? Was there any other search of the house? What were the conclusions, if any?

Another issue, Karen Smith, is, of course, you're looking at it from a forensic point of view, but I'm looking at it also from a circumstantial evidence point of view for so long Oakley did not come out to the bus stop the school bus finally just quit coming quit stopping now if a school bus driver knows the little girl is no longer coming to school that means the school system knows something but yet that was never communicated that this child just seemingly disappeared what about it stephanie begone is joining us crime reporter fox news digital what about that absolutely nancy and in fact i want to flag that this is not the first time someone has even mentioned this to dcyf fact, her foster parents herself wrote a letter to DCYF in which Jamie Jo

Hiles stated, quote, I am writing you to document that if something is to happen to those children, and I have tried multiple times to help them, that CPS and DCYF are at fault and will not only be in huge legal trouble, but the public relations fallout of not protecting those children will be massive. Take a listen to our cut for our friends at Fox 13. Everybody's in grief. Everybody's struggling a little bit with just trying to hold out hope for a good outcome. The superintendent of Oakville School District says Oakley's sister is friends with their principal's daughter. The principal says the sister became upset when Oakley was mentioned and said, there is no more Oakley. When she was starting to hear some of those

buzzy type words or those things that make you, as an educator, pause, she did exactly what she was supposed to. And she followed the protocol. And thing monday morning they they got a hold of the proper authorities and and then the ball started rolling and and that's that's how this kind of all came came about court documents also reveal that bowers and carlson initially lied to police saying she was with carlson's parents oakley's grandmother told investigators the last time she saw oakley was in december of 2020 said, quote, Oakley didn't look well. Oakley had dark circles under her eyes, pale skin, and she had scratches or sores on her face. Isn't it true, Stephanie Pagonis, that the parents where they had been living were out in a very rural area? Her body could be anywhere? Yes, not only is it very rural, but it is heavily wooded

to the point where police officials have said it might not even be easy to spot Oakley's remains in such heavy wooded thrush. Take a listen to our cut three, our friend Jennifer Lee. This whole investigation launched after Oakley's six-year-old sister told her friend's mom that, quote, Oakley is no more. Court documents say Jordan Bowers was enraged, yelling and clenching her fists when cops pressed her for answers about the well-being of her daughter, Oakley Carlson. That was on Sunday. Now, days later, Bowers and dad, Andrew Carlson, are behind bars and now facing an abandonment charge for failing to give prescribed medication to Oakley's sister, who is six years old and blind. How could this happen? And of course, Child Protective Services, once again,

beyond the reach of the law. But the public knows, the public knows the public knows we know something horrible has happened take a listen to our cut nine this is drew mickelson at king five before seeing the judge jordan bowers had to face a crowd headed up by jamie joe hines former foster mother of oakley carlson bowers's daughter who hasn't been seen since February 2021. That's a vindication I can get. Unfortunately, in this situation right now, all I can do is just make eye contact with her and hope that she knows that we're here and we're not going anywhere. Bowers came to court on child endangerment charges. She's accused of crimes linked to her other two children. The children were exposed to drugs while the children were

under their care, absolutely. Potentially ingested them. Potentially ingested them, yeah. Last month, Oakley's father, Andrew Carlson, pleaded guilty to the same charges. He got a year. Bowers also pleaded guilty, and since she has prior convictions, she got the maximum of 20 months. She chose not to speak to the court. No, Your Honor.

Detectives say Oakley's parents haven't spoken to them either about what happened to the five-year-old, but no charges have been filed in her disappearance. To Jamie Jo Hiles, Oakley's foster mom, what is your message right now? Well, I would love for Jordan and Andrew to know that have fun with life after you are released from jail and prison because it's not going to be easy for you and for the rest of your life like we will follow you and we will find where Oakley is for anybody else my message is just if you know anything about Oakley if you know if you hear something if you know anything please talk talk to Crime Stoppers call the Grays Harbor County Sheriff's you know department anything with any

information. Your tip could be the missing puzzle piece that we're looking for. The number in the search for Oakley is 360-533-8765. Repeat, 360-533-8765 or use the p3 tips app on your smartphone we wait as justice evolves nancy grace crime story signing off goodbye friend you're listening to an iheart podcast