No Parent Should Have to Go Through This
On Saturday, October 5, 2002, at approximately 6:30 pm, our 14-year-old daughter was abducted from our neighborhood in Elko, Nevada. There is a high probability that her birth mother abducted her. Despite Nicki having lived in our home for over seven years and despite having been adopted, law enforcement agencies have classified this case as a "parental abduction." The media in surrounding areas have covered the story and have emphasized that this is not a kidnapping, but a "custody issue" with the "natural" mother. Clearly, this is an issue that the adoption community needs to be aware of. Heaven forbid that any other adoptive family have to go through this torture only to be treated as a second class parent with minimal rights.
Because it is being termed as a "parental abduction," the FBI cannot get involved until a warrant is issued. Also, as it was explained to us, the Amber Alert System was not able to be utilized in this case due to the fact that law enforcement determined that this was a "parental abduction" and therefore, our daughter was supposedly not in imminent danger. Obviously, the issues raised in this case have us concerned about our other adopted children and should have all adoptive families concerned about their children.
We're asking for your help in getting this story out to the adoptive community because something is wrong here and we need to fix it.
We have flyers available via e-mail for anyone who is interested in helping us distribute them. The Associated Press was here today and we are hoping that our story is soon known nationally. As I am assuming you need to verify the authenticity of our daughter's abduction, please feel free to view the AP article and the front page article in tonight's edition of the Elko Daily Free Press; you may also contact the Elko Police Department (Nevada) if you wish.
It is currently 2:27 in the morning. I am sitting by the phone waiting to hear from the police . . . hoping and praying that they are going to tell me that my daughter is safe. No parent should have to go through this.
Sandy Hellman
TodderNV@hotmail.com
