"Kidnapped" In 2004? Now 8yo Is Found; Krystle Tanner Arrested

[Dakota Valkyrie]

http://i0.simplest-image-hosting.net/picture/20120313-16.jpg (http://simplest-image-hosting.net/jpg-0-20120313-16)
According to the San Augustine Co. Sheriff's office the child that was allegedly kidnapped 8 years ago has been found safe.

A woman suspected of kidnapping her neighbor's then 8 month old baby has been arrested in San Augustine.

According to authorities, at 8:45 p.m., Tuesday, the Houston Police Department homicide division received a call from a woman saying the child, Miguel Antonio Morin, was safe.

HPD said, the suspect's sister called them and stated the child was safe with her in Houston.

Authorities said Child Protective Services has been notified and arrangement were being made to pick up the child.

Investigators say the kidnapping case has come full circle.

San Augustine County investigators say Krystle Rochelle Tanner, 26, has evaded law enforcement for 8 years. In 2004, Tanner lived in Houston and was babysitting a neighbor's child when both the child and Tanner turned up missing.

The baby's mother Auboni Champion-Morin, who still resides in Houston, contacted Houston authorities for help. An investigation was launched to try and locate the missing child who was identified as Miguel Antonio Morin. Tanner's family was uncooperative with the investigation, according to a report by Houston police.

In February 2005, HPD detectives took the case to the Harris County District Attorney's office. The D-A accepted the kidnapping case but due a technicality a warrant was never issued. The case fell through the cracks and was closed in 2006, according to Gary Cunningham, Chief Deputy, San Augustine Sheriff's department.

"The assistant or assistant D-A reviewed the case and asked for clarification of a certain aspect of the case regarding the exact date on which the child was taken. For whatever reason the Houston Police department was unable to pin that information down and in 2006 they closed the case," Said Cunningham.

For several years there were no new developments in the case. Then in August of last year, Child Protective Services in San Augustine received a report concerning Krystle Tanner and her relationship with her newborn and 8 year old child. "There were allegations of negligent supervision and a CPS investigation began," said Cunningham. "The CPS investigation was conducted on Krystle Tanner concerning an allegation, or report of negligence supervision of the children, and, perhaps, physical abuse of this unknown male child that was reportedly living under her household."

Cunningham said CPS investigators could not locate the 8 year old, believed to be the missing Houston baby. He also said Tanner and her boyfriend provided ‘false and misleading information' concerning the child. The CPS investigation reached as far as Austin, where Tanner's mother lived, but there were no leads to the whereabouts of the 8 year old.

In January, a CPS supervisor contacted the San Augustine County Sheriff's department to conduct a criminal investigation on Tanner. A series of interviews, a joint investigation by the sheriff's office and CPS led them back to Houston and the 2004 kidnapping allegations against Tanner.
http://www.ktre.com/story/17147678/babysitter-suspected-in-2004-houston-kidnapping-case-arrested-in-east-texas


Auboni Champion says she was shocked to get the phone call about the arrest on Monday.

"Overwhelmed, because it's been eight years; he made eight on the first of March," she said.

Investigators in San Augustine County arrested the woman caring for Champion's son eight years ago when they both disappeared. Champion says Tanner was her son Miguel's godmother.

"I came back, he was gone," Champion said.

It was a case that seemed to fall through the cracks until now. The coordinator for the Houston Regional Amber Plan says they were never contacted on the case in 2004. New developments late last year after a CPS report led investigators to Tanner.

"It was like, I knew this family. It wasn't like, hey stranger, no I knew this family. I spent time with them, we had Thanksgivings and Christmases," Champions said.

Now she's missed out on so many years.

"I'm hoping he's alive and OK," Champion said.
[...]

"We love him very much and we never gave up. That's one thing I would never give up," Champion said.

Tanner is being held without bond in San Augustine County.http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=8580013

So many questions! Press conference tomorrow should tell more.

[Robynne]

Is it just me or is anyone else glad that he was kidnapped and taken care of (not very well apparently) instead of snatched, raped, and murdered?

[Dakota Valkyrie]

Is it just me or is anyone else glad that he was kidnapped and taken care of (not very well apparently) instead of snatched, raped, and murdered?
ME! :hello:

It's so weird, though. I can't help but wonder about the mom. She knew who took him, knew the family, and yet he's not even listed with NCMEC (although appears to have been prior to the case being closed). I hope her actions have just not been communicated to us yet.

Was something going on in the home and this supposed "godmother" thinking she was rescuing him? Not that that makes it anywhere near right. Was she living under an assumed name or just hiding out?

So many questions...

http://i0.simplest-image-hosting.net/picture/20120313-17.jpg (http://simplest-image-hosting.net/jpg-0-20120313-17)

[melissa222]

Is it just me or is anyone else glad that he was kidnapped and taken care of (not very well apparently) instead of snatched, raped, and murdered?

I am very thankful! that thought did cross my mind as well...

[LeaveMeBe]

I remember this case! I am so glad he is alive and I hope he has always been safe. At this point I don't know if I want him to be reunited with his birth family or not though. 8 freakin' years with a lot of information and it "fell through the cracks"? What if Jessica McClure's family had said, "Well (no pun intended), we called the fire department and the police and they said they jusy didn't have the means to get her out, so we can't really do anything." (OK, maybe that was a stupid analogy, but it was the first thing to pop into my head.) I would think any parent of a kidnapped child would be tearing down doors, breaking out windows, doing anything to draw attention to their situation and to bring LE and the justice system to heel.

[TKaz]

Wait. IS he alive???????

His mother said,
"I'm hoping he's alive and OK,"
THe deputy said,
"CPS investigators could not locate the 8 year old.."

Does this story have a happy ending? Or at least one not riddled with abuse & death???

[Obsolete]

Wait. IS he alive???????

His mother said,
THe deputy said,

Does this story have a happy ending? Or at least one not riddled with abuse & death???

CPS was talking about back in August when they tried to follow up on a report of neglect. He's since been found but hasn't been reunited with his mother yet.

The worst part of this is that this boy has no idea who his birth mother is and despite the fact that his kidnapper was negligent she really is the only mother he knows. How confusing for him.

[Aena]

In February 2005, HPD detectives took the case to the Harris County District Attorney's office. The D-A accepted the kidnapping case but due a technicality a warrant was never issued. The case fell through the cracks and was closed in 2006, according to Gary Cunningham, Chief Deputy, San Augustine Sheriff's department.

Sounds to me like the DA's office dropped the ball on this one. Mom called everyone she was supposed to asking for help finding the little boy. I think he isn't entered on NCMEC is because they dropped the ball. They knew who took him, knew her family and nothing was ever done? Even if the mom was the worst parent in the world they still would have arrested this chick for kidnapping. Somewhere some paperwork was lost or something happened within the DA's or LE's offices that made it possible for this woman to get away with kidnapping for the last 8 years.

[Dakota Valkyrie]

Wait. IS he alive???????

His mother said,
THe deputy said,

Does this story have a happy ending? Or at least one not riddled with abuse & death???
Very first article:

HPD said, the suspect's sister called them and stated the child was safe with her in Houston.

[Dakota Valkyrie]

Child Protective Services in Houston has taken custody of a child believed kidnapped by his babysitter 8 years ago.
[...]

Chief Deputy Gary Cunningham said Tanner had evaded the law for 8 years. Word of Tanner's arrest spread and around 8:45 Tuesday night Houston Police Department Homicide division said they received a telephone call from the suspect's sister who said the missing child was in her possession and he was safe in Houston.

CPS now has the child in their protective custody. Cunningham says DNA tests will be conducted to confirm that the 8 year old is in fact the child, Miguel Antonio Morin, reported kidnapped in 2004. The child's mother, Auboni Champion-Morin, who still resides in Houston, has been contacted. She says she never gave up hope that her son would be found even after the case was closed in 2006.
[...]

Tanner, until now, has been uncooperative with authorities, according to Cunningham. He said once she learned that her sister had given up the child's location, Tanner denied kidnapping Miguel. She did admit to hiding the child and misleading law enforcement. And, she admitted to having the child in her possession for extended periods of time, said Cunningham.
http://www.ktre.com/story/17157669/update


The boy, now 8, was in good physical condition Monday and was in the custody of Texas Child Protective Services, said sheriff's Chief Deputy Gary Cunningham.
[...]

In an interview Wednesday, Champion-Morin expressed joy and disbelief that Miguel, the youngest of her five children at the time of his disappearance, had been finally found.

Authorities did not give details about who was taking care of the boy when he was found.

When Champion-Morin received a phone call Monday from the child welfare agency, "I kind of had to look at the phone -- was this real?" said the mother, who had a sixth child after her son's disappearance.

She wondered if authorities' call was a cruel joke, she said.
[...]

On the night that her son and Tanner disappeared, Champion-Morin said she had asked Tanner to watch her son overnight. At the time, the mother had five children, all under age 4, and Miguel was the youngest.

"I was having hardship at the time," the mother said. "I asked her to watch him overnight, and when I came back ... they were gone."

Tanner and the mother lived in the same apartment building, and Tanner wanted the boy to stay in her apartment and the other kids to stay at another friend's apartment, the mother said.

The mother called police as soon as she realized her son was gone, she said.

The mother knew Tanner and her family well, and they spent a lot of time together, she said.

"At that time, I trusted her, I knew her," Champion-Morin said.

Police asked her to take a polygraph and she agreed, but because she was pregnant at the time police told her she could not take it then, Champion-Morin said.

She never knew police had closed the case back in 2006, and she assumed all along they were still working on it, she said.

She called Houston Police several times to check on the case over the years and was always told she had a new police contact and the case had been assigned to someone else, the mother said.

She found the experience frustrating and had not called back in a while, she said.

Still, she thought often of her son, she said.

"I always wondered every night. I dreamed and prayed on it," she said.

She explained Miguel's disappearance to his siblings "the best I could," she said.

"They still somewhat don't understand the situation, why (someone) would do that," Champion-Morin said.

Her children now "are trying to make sure I stay calm" and are "praying with me," the mom said.

Miguel could be returned to her "by the end of the week," she said.

"I'm going to let him know I love him with all my heart ... and any questions he has, I will answer them," Champion-Morin said. "It will be hard."

"We will probably have to go to a psychiatrist together," she said, adding it will also be opportunity to work out their relationship and get to know one another.

When asked how she felt about how Houston police handled the case, she said, "It took years to get some sort of progress. This took years ... a lot of running around and nobody helping me."http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/14/justice/texas-kidnapping/index.html

[Bohring]

OMG, I cannot even imagine. This woman is probably just freaking out. YAY for her and her little one, although confusing for him.

[Dakota Valkyrie]

Late last summer, child welfare investigators in San Augustine received a complaint that Tanner and her boyfriend were neglecting her two children, Cunningham said.

Officials looked for the older boy after the complaint, but Tanner told police different stories about the child:, including that he went by different names and that she had been keeping him briefly for a woman that she had met in a park.

Sheriff's deputies had no records for the boy and little information to work with, but they began investigating it as a missing child's case in January 2012. Neither Child Protective Services nor law enforcement knew about the 2004 Houston kidnapping case at the time because the boy had been removed from the national missing children's database.

"It was very difficult because we were essentially searching for a ghost," Cunningham told the Associated Press.

CPS officials recently learned Tanner was a suspect in the 2004 kidnapping, which led to her arrest Monday. One of Tanner's relatives led police officials to the boy but denied knowing he had been abducted.

The child appears to have never been in school, and one of the names Tanner called him was "dirty," Cunningham said.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-57397919-504083/texas-boy-kidnapped-in-2004-reportedly-found-alive-reunited-with-mother/

[Bohring]

Why steal a kid just to neglect and/or abuse him?

I know abuse hasn't been used in the literal sense of the word, but to me, neglect is abuse.

[Dakota Valkyrie]

What a nightmare:
The little boy opened doors for others, smiled broadly and was polite to the cafeteria workers at a Child Protective Services building.

When they smiled back and asked his name, he fell silent.

“I don't know. Miguel ... that's what everyone here calls me,” he said, according to testimony Thursday in a Harris County courtroom.

And yet, no one can be sure.

The child is either a 6-year-old named Jaquan from rural East Texas or an 8-year-old named Miguel Morin who disappeared from Houston when he was 8 months old, depending on DNA tests on the boy and the couple who say they are his parents.

Authorities Thursday said they believe the boy is the same child who was kidnapped from a Houston apartment complex in 2004 by a babysitter who raised him as her own son in San Augustine County.

The woman authorities believe is his mother, Auboni Champion-Morin, broke down in tears in court after hearing that the son she lost now identifies Krystle Tanner, 26, as his mom.

“It hurt to hear a lot of those details,” Champion-Morin said. “This is my child, this is not her child.”
[...]

State District Judge Mike Schneider set a formal hearing in two weeks and gave the Texas Department of Family Protective Services temporary custody of the child Thursday.

Champion-Morin and Fernando Morin gave DNA samples to officials after the hearing.

“I want him to know I want him, I miss him, I love him,” Champion-Morin said. “And I'm going to keep fighting for him, no matter what.”

Investigators said in court the boy is living with a foster family as the case is sorted out.

“He's physically fine. He's precious,” said CPS investigator Lisa Rose. She said she spent Wednesday with the boy, including taking him to the county cafeteria.

She said he appears to be a normal 8-year-old with little education. He can write his name, she said, but cannot read. She said he believes he is 6 years old.

Rose testified the boy said he was in school, but did not know names of teachers or other students. Rose was doubtful that he actually was.

Champion-Morin said she has been told a reunion could take months.

“I'm trying to be very patient,” she said. CPS officials said in court that the Morins may get a supervised visit with the boy before the March 28 custody hearing.

Champion-Morin in 2004 told authorities Tanner and the boy abruptly vanished from a Houston apartment complex, officials said.

No charges were filed by Houston authorities because Champion-Morin could not definitively tell them when the boy went missing, said Chief Deputy Gary Cunningham of the San Augustine Sheriff's Department. In 2006, officials closed the case because of no new leads into the missing boy.
[...]

Police said they are continuing their investigation. Authorities are also trying to determine why Tanner took the child.

“If she believed she was looking for the child, all she had to do was tell us what happened,” Cunningham said. “She never did that. Instead, she lied to us and tried to deceive us.”
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/Is-6-year-old-Jaquan-really-missing-8-year-old-3411404.php

[Dakota Valkyrie]

A mother and father who claim their 8-year-old son was abducted as an infant and recently found will have to wait a while longer to see the child.

In a court hearing Wednesday in downtown Houston, Judge Michael Schneider ruled that the boy should undergo psychological counseling and the parents should undergo a psychological evaluation before they meet.

The father, Fernando Morin, learned today that his DNA is a 99.99 percent match to the boy. The mother, Auboni Champion-Morin, underwent a DNA test today. The results will be known next week at a previously scheduled hearing on March 28.

In court today, the Morins asked for permission to see the boy, who they named Miguel. He is currently in foster care and has no idea that the woman accused of abducting him is not his biological mother. But the judge followed the advice of a psychologist who testified it would be best for the boy if they waited at least a week.

We also learned that the child, who believes he is 6 years old and is named Jaquan, has not attended school and is functioning below a kindergarten level. He is unaware of the reason that he is currently in foster care.

CPS is continuing its investigation to be certain that the Morins are fit to be parents, if the court were to award them custody. An agency spokesperson confirms that Auboni Champion-Morin had five other children. One of them is deceased. The other four are living with an acquaintance of Champion-Morin and have for some time.
http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=8589863

I was feeling hinky about this and this just makes it more so:

A Houston family is raising serious questions about a woman who says her child was kidnapped eight years ago.

Joseph and Juanita Aguillard have five kids of their own, from age 7 to 18. But they are also raising Aboni Champion Morin's four children – Destiny, 6; Fernando, 9; Mariah, 11; and Raghim, 13.

The Aguillards are the Morin kids' legal guardians.
[...]

Here is the problem: Juanita Aguillard isn't so sure that Miguel was kidnapped at all, because of Morin's history with her kids.

The Aguillards said they took the first Morin children in when the oldest were 4 and 2, at Aboni Champion Morin's request. It was supposed to just be for a year.

"She hadn't been calling, she hadn't seen them. She didn't know if we were being good to the kids. She didn't know what the status was," Juanita Aguillard said.

The one year turned into three years, and then Morin decided to take the kids back.

"They didn't stay for a week before she called us back and said, ‘We can't handle them. Can you come get them?' We did that. They have been with us for eight years now," Juanita Aguillard said.

The Aguillards believe that even though DNA tests released Wednesday proved that Miguel Morin Sr. is the biological father of little Miguel, and tests are expected to confirm that Champion Morin is the mother, the boy should be living with his other siblings.

"We will be more than glad to take him in and have him join his sisters and brothers," Juanita Aguillard said.

KHOU 11 News tried to reach Morin for this story, but she did not return our calls.http://www.cbs19.tv/story/17149111/houston-family-raises-doubts-about-kidnapping-case

[Dakota Valkyrie]

http://i0.simplest-image-hosting.net/picture/20120322-01.jpg (http://simplest-image-hosting.net/jpg-0-20120322-01)
A Houston couple whose infant disappeared in 2004 learned Wednesday that an 8-year-old living in East Texas is their child, but the revelation was clouded by allegations the couple may have given away the boy along with their other four children.

Fernando Morin and his wife, Auboni Champion-Morin, declined to answer questions about their four children who apparently have not lived with the couple for years. They said they are focusing on custody of Miguel Morin, who was allegedly kidnapped by his godmother and former baby sitter, Krystle Tanner.
[...]

Schneider ruled that there would be another status hearing before the boy's parents are allowed to visit him.

During the hearing, there was a brief discussion that a different Houston family has come forward to say they are raising the couple's four other children and have for eight years.

Schneider cut off the discussion and said family members and investigators will be able to testify during a full custody hearing next week.

Estella Olguin, a spokeswoman with Child Protective Services, confirmed that the agency also is looking in to allegations that the couple "gave away" their children but declined to discuss the facts until they come out in court.

The allegations coincide with court records that show police had questions about the boy's 2004 disappearance, eventually closing the investigation 18 months later.

"Numerous family members and neighbors reported that she has given her children away," according to an affidavit explaining why the kidnapping case was closed April 6, 2006. Instead of pursuing it as an abduction, police told the couple to try to get their child back through a lawsuit.

There were no developments in the case until CPS investigators in East Texas began investigating Tanner months ago.http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Couple-come-under-suspicion-despite-missing-boy-s-3423859.php

[AngelFire]

That dude could pass for Ron Jeremy's kid.

[Dakota Valkyrie]

http://i0.simplest-image-hosting.net/picture/20120324-06.jpg (http://simplest-image-hosting.net/jpg-0-20120324-06)
The mother of kidnapping suspect Krystle Tanner is being held on $250,000 bail after being arrested Friday at her home in Manor, a small town outside of Austin.

Gloria Jean Walker, 50, also has been charged with kidnapping for her alleged role in the 2004 disappearance of 8-month-old Miguel Morin in November 2004.

Authorities are also investigating other children living with Walker.http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Mother-of-kidnapping-suspect-arrested-in-2004-3430436.php


"We do know that for an extended period of time the child was in the immediate custody of the mother," said Gary Cunningham, a deputy with the San Augustine County sheriff's office, which is helping investigate the case. "We never identified her as a suspect until recently when we began piecing the parts of this bizarre puzzle together, which led us right to her door."

Walker was arrested Friday at her home in Manor, police said. Five children who lived at her house, including two of her own children and three of her grandchildren, were taken into custody by Child Protective Services, said Julie Moody, a spokeswoman with Child Protective Services in Austin. The children ranged in age from 11 months to 16 years, Moody said.
[...]

The boy, Miguel Morin, was found last week in Houston after Tanner's sister called police to say he was at her house, Cunningham said.

"Her claim is that some 24 hours after Krystle was arrested, she inadvertently stumbled across information indicating we were looking for this child," Cunningham said.http://www.statesman.com/news/local/manor-woman-arrested-in-connection-with-missing-houston-2258005.html


Police say even some of officers were surprised by the arrest.

"I have previously spoken with Ms. Walker in the past," said Sgt. Ryan Phipps, with the Manor Police Department. "Nothing led anybody to believe that she was connected to this."

Child Protective Services removed four of Walker's grandchildren from the home, ranging in age from 1 - 3 years of age. Their mother did not want to be identified, but she did tell me she was devastated.

"I am in pain," she said. "They took my kids. I had nothing to do with it. My kids had nothing to do with it."

When asked if her mother knew anything about the kidnapping, the woman replied, "You will have to ask her."http://www.kvue.com/news/8-year-old-kidnapping-case-results-in-Central-Texas-arrest-144054116.html


The San Augustine Sheriff's Office said information provided by Tanner led to her mother's arrest and that more arrests could be coming.http://www.click2houston.com/news/Mother-accused-in-baby-s-kidnapping/-/1735978/9692292/-/12bb7ulz/-/index.html

[Silvahalo]

DNA tests have confirmed Fernando Morin is Miguel's father. Similar tests on Auboni Champion-Morin, who says she is his birth mother, haven't been disclosed. The judge overseeing the custody case ordered the couple have a psychological examination before ruling on their request to at least meet Miguel in a supervised setting without specifically saying who they are.
The child _ who knew his name as Jaquan _ began therapy on Thursday, Olguin said.
"I just feel so sorry for this 8-year-old child," Cunningham said. "He was moved around, didn't even know his real name, how old he was, when his birthday was. Your heart's got to go out to him."


Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/national/dna-confirms-houston-man-is-missing-child-s-father/article_a170c19a-5c73-5a15-9df2-f17772ba32a6.html#ixzz1qAY09lQs


What a mess, child is so confused is not ever more so. I just hope at the end the best is done for him and he's happy with the outcome.

[Dakota Valkyrie]

A Houston couple whose infant son disappeared in 2004 and was found earlier this month living in East Texas will have to go through therapy, as will the child, before they can be reunited, a judge ordered Wednesday.

State District Judge Mike Schneider ruled that 8-year-old Miguel Morin, who does not know he was separated from his biological mother and father when he was 8 months old, will be under a therapist's care until further notice.

That therapist will help court officials decide when the parents - Auboni Champion-Morin and Fernando Morin - are even allowed to visit their son, who still believes he will return to the care of Krystle Tanner, the woman accused of kidnapping him.
[...]

Authorities continue to investigate allegations from a Houston family who say Champion-Morin and her husband "gave away" their four other children about the time Miguel disappeared.

A police investigation into the disappearance uncovered conflicting stories from the Morin family and relatives about their children.http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Houston-couple-whose-baby-disappeared-in-2004-3441172.php

[Whisper]

Women accused of kidnapping boy plead not guilty

[...]
During the brief court hearing in San Augustine, the women were appointed attorneys, who didn't immediately return phone calls seeking comment. Tanner and Walker each remained in jail on $250,000 bond. Prosecutors said they hope to try the case sometime in August.

Miguel, now 8 years old, is in foster care as a Houston judge waits to hear next month from therapists on when the boy can be reunited with his parents, who are seeking custody despite allowing their four other children to live with another couple
[...]
The first word of his possible location came in April 2010, when Child Protective Services in San Augustine County began investigating Tanner after marijuana was detected in her newborn son's bloodstream, according to Walker's arrest warrant affidavit. Tanner told CPS she also had a 6-year-old son who lived with her mother in Manor.

Walker denied such a boy existed, and Tanner later recanted her claim.

With no proof of the boy, CPS worked with Tanner, offering parenting classes and other support for her newborn, said CPS spokeswoman Julie Moody.

Nearly a year passed before CPS got another tip, in March 2011, that a half-black, half-Hispanic boy, possibly 5 years old, was living in Walker's home in Manor under harsh conditions, including physical abuse. The boy's description matched Miguel's.

Walker again denied the child's existence, and CPS closed the case in May.

Authorities say Walker brought Miguel to Tanner and he stayed with her until about August, when Walker told her daughter to return him to Manor.
[...]http://www.kctv5.com/story/17407147/lies-homes-helped-hide-kidnapped-boys-identity

[sugarfree irony]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/16/miguel-morin-kidnapped-infant-texas_n_1522724.html

Officials with Child Protective Services told state District Judge Mike Schneider that a therapist who has been working with 8-year-old Miguel Morin believes the boy is not yet ready to be told who his parents are or to have visits with them. Authorities allege Miguel was taken as an infant, and his baby sitter and her mother are now jailed on kidnapping charges.

The boy will remain in the state's care at least until a Sept. 12 hearing, said Estella Olguin, a spokeswoman for CPS in Houston.

[Abroad]

The boy will remain in the state's care at least until a Sept. 12 hearing

Anybody know how one finds out what the conclusion was at the hearing on 12 September?

[Dakota Valkyrie]

A Texas boy who was kidnapped when he was an infant has now been reunited with his family.
[...]

Miguel, now 8 years old, was able to move permanently into the home of Junita and Joseph Auguillard thanks to a judge's ruling on Wednesday. The home isn't unfamiliar to him. Miguel, who's been in foster care since he was found in March, has been spending weekends and holidays there since November, and the Auguillards are the legal guardians of his two sisters and two brothers.

"This is what we've been waiting for. It's been a long time coming, but it's finally here," the soft-spoken Joseph Auguillard said as he waited for a caseworker from Texas Child and Protective Services to drop Miguel off for the last time.
[...]

Morin is moving into the Auguillard's small, single-family home in Channelview, a town about 16 miles east of Houston. He joins his brothers and sisters, as well as eight of the Auguillard's own children.

Ranging in age from 7 to 19, the children all embraced Miguel immediately, Junita Auguillard said, standing in a small living room that has family pictures hanging on the walls and sitting on a brick fireplace.

'He fit right in, like he was never supposed to be gone,' said Junita Auguillard, who knew Miguel as a baby before he was kidnapped. 'He had an instant bond with the other siblings.'

The Auguillards have been taking care of Miguel's brothers and sisters for nearly 10 years, Junita Auguillard said.

Miguel's parents, Auboni Champion-Morin and Fernando Morin, were the Auguillards' neighbors in a previous apartment complex. Initially, they had asked the Auguillards to care for their two oldest children, now 14 and 12, for a year until they 'got settled,' she said. But then they gave them guardianship of their two younger children, now 10 and 7, she said.

It remains unclear why the Morins did not want to care for their children, Auguillard said. They rarely visit, and only occasionally call, she said. The judge had also said Miguel's parents could visit him in the Auguillards' home, she said, however, they have not since his visits began in November.

Miguel and his biological parents are undergoing therapy together, and CPS hopes they will one day share custody with the Auguillards.

For now, though, the Auguillards are simply happy Miguel will no longer have to return to foster care.http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2261184/Miguel-Morin-Kidnapped-Texas-child-finally-returns-home-nearly-years-living-abductor.html

[TKaz]

I think it's a blessing he was place with the Auguillards & his siblings. I wonder why the judge decided this though, it almost seems too good to be true.

[sugarfree irony]

An East Texas jury sentenced two women to prison Tuesday after convicting them of kidnapping a Houston boy when he was 8 months old and hiding him for eight years before he was found.

Gloria Walker was sentenced to 30 years for injury to a child and eight years for kidnapping, to be served concurrently. Her daughter, Krystle Tanner, was sentenced to eight years for kidnapping and eight years for the lesser charge of reckless injury to a child, also to be served concurrently.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/mom-daughter-prison-time-kidnapping-houston-boy-article-1.1268588