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Before Oakley Carlson turned one, she was taken out of the care of her biological parents Jordan Bowers and Andrew Carlson, and placed with foster parents, Jamie Jo and Erik Hiles. They instantly fell in love with her, and over the next two years or so, they are overjoyed to care for her and watch her grow. They see her first steps, hear her first words, and watch her develop into a happy, confident, well-adjusted toddler.
The plan for Oakley from The Washington State Department of Children, Youth and Families, or DCYF, was adoption, presumably with Jamie Jo and Erik. But their dreams of legally becoming a family with Oakley were crushed when they were notified that the plan changed again, and Oakley would be returning to her biological parents at the end of 2019.
After she was returned, there were several calls made to social services about Oakley, including a call from Andrew Carlson’s own mother. But Oakley remained in her biological parent’s care.
Eventually, around the end of 2021, people noticed that Oakley wasn’t with the rest of her family. Due to some quick thinking by Oakley’s sister’s school principal, she ultimately led authorities to uncover that there had been no verified sightings of Oakley for almost a year.
When authorities questioned Jordan Bowers and Andrew Carlson, they shut down and became uncooperative. When they search the family home that had recently been on fire for several hours, they find blood but no Oakley. She remains missing to this day.
Anyone with information about Oakley is urged to contact the Grays Harbor Sheriff’s Office at 360-533-8765 or the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST.
Sources:
Bernhard, Jimmy. “Timeline of Events: The Search for 5-Year-Old Oakley Carlson.” king5.Com, 30 Dec. 2021, https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/oakley-carlson-missing-timeline-grays-harbor-county-washington/281-87c06378-05b9-4c17-bd96-58f469bd1d3f.
Fitzgerald, Emily. “Oakley Carlson Case: Charges against Missing Oakville Girl's Parents Elevated to Felonies.” The Daily Chronicle, 30 Dec. 2021, https://www.chronline.com/stories/charges-against-missing-oakville-girls-parents-elevated-to-felonies,281782.
Fitzgerald, Emily. “'They Know Something': Demonstrators Demand Answers from Oakley's Parents.” The Daily Chronicle, 31 Jan. 2022, https://www.chronline.com/stories/they-know-something-demonstrators-demand-answers-from-oakleys-parents,283699.
Justice for Oakley, https://justiceforoakley.wixsite.com/home.
Kilander, Gustaf, and Alisha Rahaman Sarkar. “Police Investigate Missing Girl, Five, Who Her Sister Said Was Eaten by Wolves.” The Independent, Independent Digital News and Media, 15 Dec. 2021, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/oakley-carlson-missing-washington-state-b1976769.html.
Ko, Kevin. “Grays Harbor Detectives Still Looking for Answers a Year after Reported Disappearance of 6-Year-Old.” Yahoo! Finance, Yahoo!, 6 Dec. 2022, https://finance.yahoo.com/news/her-sixth-birthday-oakley-carlson-202248953.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAGSdBCZvi8dQuX1LRCEnB30ZnQdOADw-MrsiK_bO0Iz5V2xsKEHI5_WX8m0Jk1Zso8wykTXwMHauKC-kyRKR5chXxCICfFl0QK4BsM1E6vIAznJabGqAk6adQEpQE0N7aK3OF_H4ma8PffiMR5rpbzNvylk4MHKaBXHMrr4OjfCg.
Leister, Allen. “Father of Missing Oakville Girl Found to Be in Compliance with Court Order.” The Daily Chronicle, 6 Oct. 2022, https://www.chronline.com/stories/father-of-missing-oakville-girl-found-to-be-in-compliance-with-court-order,301279.
Leister, Allen. Grays Harbor County Judge Issues Warrant for Father of Missing Girl Oakley Carlson. The Daily Chronicle, 13 Sept. 2022, https://www.chronline.com/stories/grays-harbor-county-judge-issues-warrant-for-father-of-missing-girl-oakley-carlson,299802.
Light the Way, https://www.lightthewaymissing.com/.
Mikkelsen, Drew. “Supporters Create Tribute Video to Mark 1 Year since Oakley Carlson's Disappearance.” king5.Com, 6 Dec. 2022, https://www.king5.com/article/news/crime/one-year-later-oakley-carlson-case/281-37f30866-1ebb-419f-b1c5-2d6c118a0e99.
“The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (Namus).” NamUs.gov, https://www.namus.gov/MissingPersons/Case#/91533.
Noone, Sean, and Michael Shure. “Girl, 5, Has Not Been Seen since Her Return to Biological Family.” NewsNation, NewsNation, 17 Feb. 2022, https://www.newsnationnow.com/missing/girl-5-has-not-been-seen-since-return-to-biological-family/.
“Oakley Carlson.” Never Seen Again, season 2, episode 9, 24 July 2022.
“Oakley's Law.” Change.org, https://www.change.org/p/don-t-let-another-child-fall-through-the-system-s-brokenness?redirect=false.
Pagones, Stephanie, and Michael Ruiz. “Missing Washington 6-Year-Old Who Siblings Fear Was 'Eaten by Wolves' May Still Be Alive, Profiler Says.” Fox News, FOX News Network, 12 Mar. 2022, https://www.foxnews.com/us/oakley-carlson-missing-washington-girl-may-still-be-alive.
“The Spotlight Investigates: Where Is Missing Washington Girl Oakley Carlson?” YouTube, Fox 13 Seattle, 27 June 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G70atEchjgs.
Staff. “Oakley Carlson: Reward for Missing Washington Girl Now $85,000 One Year after Disappearance Reported.” FOX13 News | Seattle & Western Washington | Formerly Q13 News, 6 Dec. 2022, https://www.q13fox.com/news/oakley-carlson-reward-for-missing-washington-girl-now-85000-one-year-after-disappearance-reported.
Ubiera, Cheyenne R. “Eerie Clues Emerge in Search for Missing Girl, 6, from Fire to No-Show Playdate.” The US Sun, 7 Dec. 2022, https://www.the-sun.com/news/6858999/oakley-carlson-missing-oakville-washington-clues/.
Willeford, Jacob. “Major Update in Case of Missing Girl Siblings Fear Was 'Eaten by Wolves'.” The US Sun, 27 July 2022, https://www.the-sun.com/news/5871646/major-update-in-mystery-disappearance-of-oakley-carlson/.