The Misery Machine - The Case of Oakley Carlson

Starting point is 00:00:00 Oakley Carlson was born on December 6, 2016 in Oakville, Washington to parents Jordan Bowers and Andrew Carlson. She was the third youngest of four siblings, who was adored by everyone who knew her. This included her grandparents Kate and Fred Carlson and her foster parents, Jamie Joe and Eric Hiles. Oakley was only seven months old when she went into foster care and was almost three years old when she was returned to her parents. Oakley had brown eyes, brown hair, and a big smile that accentuated her slightly chubby cheeks. She was a happy and compassionate little girl who tried to make other people smile as well. Oakley liked to snuggle and give hugs. She was funny and smart and already spoke in almost complete sentences at three years old.

Starting point is 00:00:50 She loved to sing and dance, especially to the Beach Boy song Barbara Ann. She loved her loud shoes, which is what she called her tap shoes. She loved reading so much that she sometimes fell asleep with books in her bed. As of the date of this recording in 2024, Oakley is also missing. Oakley's mother, Jordan, grew up in Grey's Harbor County, Washington, a couple hours southwest of Seattle.

Starting point is 00:01:15 She struggled with addiction at least as far back as 2014. In fact, Jordan had five prior felony convictions for drugs and theft. She briefly lost custody of Oakley's brother that same year. As a result, did to complete a drug addiction program and went to DV counseling. The boy referred to as BB-P in court documents was returned to Jordan in 2015. Around that time, Jordan began dating Andrew Carlson. Andrew was a police officer for the city of Aberdeen, the largest city in Grace Harbor County.

Starting point is 00:01:48 The couple had a daughter together in 2015. A girl referred to as DC in court documents was born with a genetic medical condition that left her legally blind. D.C. didn't sleep or eat well and required daily injections of medicine. Oakley was born in December the next year. Jordan had her hands full with a four-year-old, a one-year-old with special needs, and a brand-new infant. In May of 2017, she posted a picture of Oakley on Facebook, one of only a few public posts. In a comment, she wrote, It's hard to find time to post any pictures these days.

Starting point is 00:02:24 That year, Andrew was fired from the police force for making false and misleash. misleading statements. In June of 2017, someone filed a report with the Department of Children, Youth, and Families, claiming that Jordan was struggling with her mental health, as well as failing to get the appropriate help for her daughter, D.C. DCYF marked the report as screened out, which means it didn't need a follow-up investigation. The next month, another report was filed with D.C.YF. This report claimed that D.C. was not getting proper medical care.

Starting point is 00:02:57 It also claimed that DV was happening in the home and that Andrew was using Crystal. This time, DCYF did investigate and they removed the children from the home in August. The oldest boy was sent to live with his biological father, and DC and Oakley were placed in foster homes. On September 22nd, Oakley was placed with foster parents Jamie Joe and Eric Hiles. When they took her in, they were told they might be able to adopt her. Oakley celebrated her first birthday with Jamie Joe and Eric in December. In July of 2018, Andrew was charged with DV against Jordan and went to court in November. He was told to get a DV evaluation and was also required to participate in a treatment program.

Starting point is 00:03:41 This was part of his punishment instead of going to jail, but there was also something he needed to do in order to get the kids back. According to the letters sent to DCYF, Andrew stopped attending the program at the beginning of April 2019 and was kicked out of the program in mid-May. The prosecutor alleged Andrew violated his agreement and pushed to find him guilty. Andrew had a number of hearings about his failure to complete the required programs from July to September of that year. Remember, the charges against him were dismissed with no public explanation. But meanwhile, Oakley had a two-hour supervised visit with Andrew and Jordan in March of 2019. She returned from the visit wearing a filthy diaper. She also had scratches on her cheeks, and the visit supervisor couldn't explain how Oakley had been scratched.

Starting point is 00:04:29 Concerned, Jamie Joe reported the incident to DCYF. In 2019, Jordan gave birth to another son, despite the fact that her three existing children had already been taken away from her. Court records refer to him as J.C. DCYF completed a report about Andrew and Jordan in May of 2019, but since it's confidential, very little was revealed about what the report said. documents from a custody hearing about one of the other children offered a glimpse. In the hearing, lawyers with access to the report wrote that they were concerned Jordan wasn't

Starting point is 00:05:04 passing her drug tests. The paperwork she provided was eligible and didn't contain any results for the random drug testing. Though Andrew and Jordan both claimed to have completed their court-ordered treatment programs, there was no written documentation from the treatment agencies verifying their claims. They were also concerned that Jordan had not been honest, in her DV assessment evaluation and could not verify that she had completed the DV counseling. The report also noted that the couple had not taken DC to a doctor's appointment at Marybridge Hospital, even though DCYF gave them a gas card so they could afford to go. These concerns would prove to be valid, but at the time, they did not stop or slow down DCYF's plans to send Oakley back to her parents.

Starting point is 00:05:49 In September of 2019, DCYF told Jamie Joe and Eric that Oakley, would be returned to her parents in January. Jamie Joe was concerned that Oakley wouldn't be able to adjust that quickly. Sadly, the social worker dismissed her concerns and reminded her that Oakley wasn't her daughter. Oakley had her first unsupervised visit on October 19th of 2019. When she returned, she told Jamie Joe that her biological parents had gotten into a fight. Oakley was playing a game on Andrew's cell phone and the two argued about it. Oakley saw Jordan hit Andrew.

Starting point is 00:06:23 Jamie Joe reported this to the social worker, her concerns were again dismissed. Weeks later, on November 6, Jamie Joe emailed the social worker and her supervisor with concerns about the start of overnight visits. Instead of addressing her concerns, they told her that Oakley's return date had been moved up. She was scheduled to return to her parents just a few weeks later. Oakley had two more overnight weekend visits with her parents. When she returned, she told Jamie Joe and Eric that the visit was too much. long. She wanted to come home to their house. On November 29th, Oakley was given back to Jordan and Andrew. She moved into the home at 177 Barthell Road on the outskirts of Oakville, Washington.

Starting point is 00:07:05 She celebrated her third birthday a week later. At this point in our story, Oakley had been in foster care for over two years. Suddenly, with only a few visits to help her transition, Oakley's whole world had changed. It had not only been a difficult adjustment for but for the whole family as well. Jordan and Andrew were suddenly responsible for taking care of four young children. At that time, the older children were roughly seven, four, and three years old. The youngest was still an infant. Their oldest son spent some of his time with his father.

Starting point is 00:07:41 The other children were there full time. DCYF stopped doing home visits once the pandemic began. In Washington State, children weren't required to attend school until the age of eight. to no one except Jordan and Andrew were watching Oakley. And there was no one watching Jordan and Andrew either. In June of 2020, Oakley's case with DCYF was officially closed. Sometime in 2020, Jordan began assisting several friends, including her half-brother, in accessing relief funds.

Starting point is 00:08:12 She helped them set up an account with a mobile banking app called Dave. While doing so, she gained access to their personal information. She used that information to set up accounts linked to credit cards, accounts and cards only she had access to. Coincidentally, Jordan was spending a lot of money at the casino, and she claimed to have hit several jackpots, one as large as $8,000. In December, Oakley turned four years old. At Christmas time that year, she visited her paternal grandparents Kate and Fred Carlson. Kate was more than a bit concerned. Oakley had dark circles under her eyes, scratches her sores on her face, and was pale and sickly.

Starting point is 00:08:54 Many news outlets have reported that Kate called DCYF and filed the report, but she actually did not. Jamie Joe asked her to call, but Kate said she had to walk a fine line in order to be able to continue seeing her grandkids. This is a recurring theme we've come across in many of the cases we've covered where grandparents don't want to rock the boat out of fear that they'll lose access to their grandchildren. Even though she didn't call, Andrew stopped talking to his parents, and the kids were no longer allowed to visit. January of 2021, a friend of the family showed Jamie Joe a picture of Oakley taking at Christmas. In the photo, Oakley looked like she had a black eye. Oakville was a small town, and as we know, news travels in small towns. The family friend obtained the picture from Kate Carlson.

Starting point is 00:09:43 Jamie Joe also heard a rumor that Andrew had been fired from his job because he was used to the using drugs again. She contacted DCYF to share her concerns and begged them to check on Oakley. The intake worker who took the call was dismissive and warned Jamie Joe that she could get into trouble making false reports. However, Jamie Joe worked as a teacher and she reminded him that as a teacher, she was mandated to report any suspicion of abuse. On January 27th and February 10th, there were what police would later call verified sightings of Oakley. In January, a DCYF caseworker checked on Oakley and the other children. On February 10th, someone associated with a family saw Oakley with her parents. On March 24th, someone from DCYF called Jamie Joe and asked if she

Starting point is 00:10:31 had seen Oakley or her sister. The former foster mother said she was no longer involved with the family and had not seen the girls. They didn't tell her why they were calling and never called back. On November 6, 2021, at 4.54 p.m., Andrew called 9.1. to report a fire at 177 Bartel Road. He said the fire was already out and he just wanted to report it so he could make an insurance claim. He said his four-year-old daughter had been playing with a cigarette lighter and set the couch on fire at around 10 in the morning.

Starting point is 00:11:02 He and Jordan couldn't call for help because they couldn't find their phones. They allegedly fought the fire for hours before they were able to put it out. Pictures from the fire showed the couch destroyed and damaged to many rooms as the fire had spread to the second floor. smoke stained the walls and soot covered the toilet and sink in the bathroom. In another room, debris had fallen on top of children's toys. In the kitchen, parts of the refrigerator had melted and food spilled out of cabinets. Soot and smoke damage coated the walls, countertops, appliances, and ceiling.

Starting point is 00:11:36 Fire investigators examined the scene and later determined that the fire started in the kitchen microwave, not on the couch. Investigators saw other family members, but they did not see Overseas. Oakley. Later, Jordan repeated Andrew's story. She told the police and staff from the school that Oakley had been playing with a cigarette lighter and had set the couch on fire. An insurance agent inspected the home and told Jordan and Andrew that it wasn't safe to stay there. Despite this, they stayed in the home with their children. In the days after the fire, three people called DCYF to report the unsafe living conditions. DCYF closed the calls without any investigation. Jessica Swift,

Starting point is 00:12:16 the principal of Oakville Elementary School, heard about the fire and wanted to help. On November 10th, she visited 177 Barthell Road and brought school supplies for the family. She said she stayed for around 45 minutes talking with Jordan. She saw the other children playing, but didn't see Oakley. When she asked about her,

Starting point is 00:12:36 Jordan told her Oakley was in the timeout in her room. Ms. Swift visited a few more time to check in and drop things off. These visits were shorter. She didn't see Oakley on any of these visits either. When she asked about Oakley, Jordan always had an explanation. At some point during this time, the family moved to an extended stay America Hotel in Tumwater, although they still drove back to the home on Bartel Road almost every day. The hotel was about 15 minutes away from the Little Creek Casino in Shelton, Washington.

Starting point is 00:13:08 According to friends, Jordan spent a lot of time at the casino. police would later say she loved gambling more than she loved life. On December 5th, a day before Oakley's birthday, her sister, only referred to in court documents as DC, had a play date with Ms. Swift's daughter. Ms. Swift asked DC about Oakley, and the girl's response was chilling. In fact, DC curled up into a ball and cried at the question. She said her sister was not living with the family anymore. She said, and I quote, Oakley is no more, as well as.

Starting point is 00:13:42 there is no Oakley. Later, Ms. Swift asked DC where Oakley was, and was told that Oakley had gone to live with her foster parents. Ms. Swift checked. Oakley was not with Jamie Joe and Eric. Armed with this information, Ms. Swift didn't want to send DC back home. Thinking quickly, she called Jordan to ask if DC could spend the night because the girls were having such a good time together, to which the mother agreed. The next day, Ms. Swift contacted police to ask for a welfare check. December 6, the day of Oakley's fifth birthday, Tomwater Police went to the hotel room of the Extended Stay America. Jordan answered the door holding Oakley's two-year-old brother, J.C. When police told her that they were doing a welfare check and wanted to know where Oakley was,

Starting point is 00:14:26 Jordan said Oakley was with her mother. This was a strange answer, and the police verified that Jordan was indeed Oakley's mother and asked the question again. Jordan turned and told Andrew, Oakley is with your parents. Andrew agreed and told the police that Oakley was with his parents. Police asked for the address and phone number for Kate and Fred, and Andrew claimed he didn't know that information. This was obviously not true as his parents still lived in his childhood home. He had lived there with them for 20 years.

Starting point is 00:14:58 Eventually, he stopped lying and provided the information. The police called. Kate and Fred said they had not seen Oakley since December of 2020, a year prior. According to court documents, around this time, likely while police were out of the room, Jordan performed a factory reset on her phone, deleting all the data stored there. Police returned to the room and told Andrew that Oakley was not with his parents. Officers said he did not look surprised and refused to cooperate any further. Jordan was outright hostile and also refused to cooperate.

Starting point is 00:15:31 The officers left and noted the family's car only had one car seat. Even though the couple had four young. children. After the police left, Jordan and Andrew packed up. Jordan attempt to flush several credit cards clogging the toilet. As they were leaving, Andrew called the police to report Oakley missing before returning to their home at 177 Bartel Road. Police quickly obtained a search warrant for the home and questioned the couple again. Andrew and Jordan claimed they lost track of the little girl five or ten days earlier, like she was some missing sock or loose change they had set down somewhere and then forgot about it. When press, they guessed the last time they saw Oakley was on

Starting point is 00:16:15 November 30th, 2021. By this time, there hadn't been a credible sighting of Oakley in 10 months. At the home, investigators noticed there was no bed set up for Oakley. All the other children had a place to sleep, but she did not. Her toys and clothes were also missing. Investigators found blood spatter on the window blinds. In the downstairs hallway, they found a bloody handprint on the wall. While police were at the home, Andrew made statements that implied he didn't think that Oakley was ever coming home. Jordan became so hostile she was arrested for obstructing an investigation and suspicion of first-degree manslaughter. Officers arrested Andrew on suspicion of first-degree manslaughter.

Starting point is 00:17:00 However, without a body? That is a difficult crime to prove. That evening, a forensic interviewer spoke to Oakley's sister, D.C. She told the interviewer that her mother told her not to talk about Oakley. She said her mother told her that Oakley had gone out into the woods and been eaten by wolves. It said Oakley had been beaten after setting the living room couch on fire. But what was the most chilling statement? She said Oakley was under her mother's bed and in the woods.

Starting point is 00:17:31 She said Oakley and her little brother were not safe with her mother. The oldest boy, only known in court documents as BB-P, said he was there the day of the fire. All four children were home that day. He said everyone made it out except for Oakley. He said that Jordan physically abused Oakley and the baby. He said she didn't always feed Oakley. He was worried that she would starve. He said Oakley was locked in a baby.

Starting point is 00:18:01 sell under the stairs when she was bad. They also saw Jordan beat Oakley with a belt. Police put the other children in protective custody. Oldest boy was placed with his father and DC was placed with her former foster parents. DCYF asked Jamie Joe to take the youngest boy, JC, as well as Oakley. Tell her that Oakley was missing. Due to this, Jamie Joe tried to figure out what she could do last minute to make Oakley feel special on her birthday. late that night jacy was dropped off at jamie joe and eric's home they said he was wearing a monster's ink onesie in a pair of rubber boots and he was filthy

Starting point is 00:18:41 they said he looked like he had rolled around in the dirt and then no one had bothered to wipe his face the next day she went to target to buy clothes and other items for the little boy as he had shown up with only the clothes that he was wearing remember when we said that word travels fast around small towns well while at tariff a friend called Jamie Jo to tell her that Jordan and Andrew had been arrested for manslaughter. She didn't understand it first. The friend had to explain to her that the police suspected that Oakley might be dead. Overcome by grief, the couple decided they weren't the best caretakers for JC at the time, and a member of the family took custody of the little boy.

Starting point is 00:19:25 Meanwhile, detectives from Gray's Harbor County Sheriff's Office, the Washington State Patrol and the FBI continued to search the family's property and the surrounding woods, about 300 acres. Much of it was thick and dense woods filled with blackberry bushes, briar patches, and heavy underbrush. The sheriff's department flagged areas of interest, and hundreds of people helped with the grid search. Investigators also dug up the ground in a few places, however, they found no signs whatsoever of Oakley. The initial search lasted for seven days, and, teams have continued the search several times since then. At the end of September 2023, the Grey's Harbor Sheriff's Office brought in special teams of drone pilots and cadaver

Starting point is 00:20:09 dogs. The drones looked for anything that may look suspicious and the dogs and their handlers investigated on the ground, but there's still no sign of Oakley. Because she is so young and has been missing for so long, at least think it is not likely she will be found alive. They've investigated rumors that Jordan may have sold Oakley for gambling money, but they've found no evidence to support this theory. They've tested the blood they found at the house for DNA, but they've not released any results to the public. During their investigation of Oakley's disappearance,

Starting point is 00:20:46 police found out that the couple hadn't refilled DC's medicine since August of 2020. D.C., Oakley's then six-year-old sister, had not been given her medicine for at least 15 months. On December 7, 2021, police dropped the initial charges and instead charged the couple with abandonment of a dependent person in the second degree. The failure to give DC her medicine was medical abandonment. Judge Catherine's Vobotas set their bail at $150,000. Meanwhile, DCYF collected hair and hair follicle samples from DC and JC, Oakley's then two-year-old brother. The samples were tested for exposure to crystal.

Starting point is 00:21:29 Very high levels were found, indicating they had been exposed to the drug and may have even ingested it. Results suggested that DC and JC had been exposed as early as July 1st, 2021. With this new information, the prosecutor added two counts of endangerment with a controlled substance to Jordan and Andrew's cases. Both initially pled not guilty. In March of 2022, Andrew pled guilty to two counts of endangerment. In exchange, the prosecutor dropped the abandonment charges. Andrew was subsequently sentenced to 12 months in jail. A month later, Jordan took a similar plea deal.

Starting point is 00:22:06 Because of her previous criminal history, Judge Svoboda sentenced her to 20 months at the Mission Creek Washington Correctional Center for Women. The judge also ruled that she was not allowed to have any unsupervised contact with children under the age of 18. She was released on January 15, 2023, but was arrested again within minutes. This time she was charged with three counts of identity theft in the first degree and one count of identity theft in the second degree. This case was not related to Oakley's disappearance, but it was related to the credit cards found flushed down the hotel toilet. While fixing the clogged toilet, workers at the hotel found a credit card stuck inside and two more stuck in the pipe beneath it. They handed the cards over the police who were able to link the cards to Jordan. She had used them to steal thousands of dollars from the friends.

Starting point is 00:22:57 and family members she had helped. Spent more than $40,000 at Walmart and on eBay. She also took out cash to feed the gaming machines at the casino. Judge Sabota thought Jordan was a flight risk, so she set bail at $50,000. Jordan remained in prison as her identity theft case moved through the courts. In July of 2023, she pled guilty to all of the identity theft charges. The deal she accepted was for 36 months in prison, paying money back to the victims and 12 months of probation. However, the judge decided to sentence her to the maximum amount

Starting point is 00:23:33 of time, which was 43 months in prison and a year of probation. She was transferred to the Washington Correctional Center for Women in Gig Harbor, known to locals as Purdy. Unless other charges are filed, she will likely be released in early 2026. Andrew was released from the Grays Harbor County Jail on August 3rd, 2022. He's still living in Winatchee, Washington, and still, will not cooperate with police to help find Oakley. It is difficult to listen to Jamie Joe and Eric talk about Oakley. Their hearts are broken. They heard her first words and saw her first steps.

Starting point is 00:24:11 They cared for her when she was sick and read her stories every night. Their home is still full of photos of the little girl. However, they have turned their pain into action. Jamie Joe and Eric partnered with Light the Way missing persons, advocacy project to help organize and fundraise for Oakley. A Paint the Night Pink auction in July of 2022 raised nearly $50,000 for her reward fund. Additional donations have brought the fund over $97,000. Reward is for any information that helps bring Oakley home.

Starting point is 00:24:48 The Grace Harbor County Sheriff's Office would like to hear from anyone who has seen Oakley. They are also interested in hearing from anyone in contact with Andrew or Jordan around the time Oakley went missing. Any little piece of evidence, even as simple as a comment someone remembers, could be the key that helps break this case. The Sheriff's Office worked with the National Center for Missing Exploited Children in order to produce an age progression, showing what Oakley would look like at six years old. We'll include a link to Oakley's website and her missing person's flyer in our show notes.

Starting point is 00:25:19 Her website contains additional ways to get involved, such as writing a letter to Governor Jay Inslee. Anyone with relevant information should contact the sheriff's office at Area Code 360-964-1729. In January of 2023, House Bill 1397 nicknamed the Oakley-Carlson Act was presented to the Washington State Legislature. The bill aimed to increase oversight of the reunification process for children whose parents have substance use disorders. Many foster parents, including Jamie Joe, testified at the hearing. She shared, My daughter is missing, and DCYF played a part in failing to protect her.

Starting point is 00:26:00 As of February of 2023, the bill failed to make it out of the committee before a critical cutoff deadline. It is unfortunately unclear where the bill currently stands as of the date of this recording, but we will keep an eye out for updates as they become available. This past July, Jamie Joe and Eric remembered Oakley's love of reading books by holding a book drive. their goal was to collect 500 books. They planned to donate the books to places where someone like Oakley would get to read them, local foster visitation centers, daycares, and libraries. Donations poured in, and they surpassed their goal of 500 books in just a few weeks,

Starting point is 00:26:39 collecting 700 books before July even started. Jamie Joe said many of the books were once Oakley would have loved. Books about unicorns, books they had read together at Ben, bedtime like Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? And books like, I've loved you since forever that were among her favorites. Inside each book, the family placed a special sticker. It included a photo of Oakley and the message with love and hope for Oakley Carlson. And that is what we will leave you with.

Starting point is 00:27:12 Love and Hope for Oakley Carlson.

The Misery Machine - The Case of Oakley Carlson

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