Last week we noted that with the deadline approaching for Lisa Miller to hand over custody of her daughter Isabella to her former partner, Janet Jenkins, due to her consistent refusal to abide by court-ordered custody arrangement, Miller and Isabella had suddenly disappeared.
Well, the deadline has come and gone and the two are nowhere to be seen:
A woman at the center of a complex dispute with her former lesbian partner defied a court order to give up custody of her 7-year-old daughter Friday, opening the door to possible criminal charges.
A Vermont judge had ordered Lisa Miller to turn over daughter Isabella to Janet Jenkins at 1 p.m. Friday at the Falls Church, Va., home of Jenkins' parents. Miller did not show up with the girl, according to Fairfax County, Va., police and Jenkins' Vermont-based attorney.
"She's very disappointed, obviously," said Sarah Star, Jenkins' lawyer. "She's very concerned about Isabella and asks that if anybody sees Isabella, that they please contact the authorities."
The Jenkins family called police after Miller failed to show. A detective interviewed the family and determined that Fairfax County authorities would not be investigating the girl's whereabouts because of jurisdictional concerns, said Officer Tawny Wright, a police spokeswoman.
Star said she had also contacted authorities in Rutland County, Vt., where Jenkins lives, and Bedford County, Va., where Miller was living the last time Jenkins knew her whereabouts. Wright said it would be up to authorities in those counties to decide whether to investigate.
If police believe a crime has been committed, they would obtain a criminal warrant charging Miller with parental abduction. For the time being, the case remains a civil matter.
Interestingly, neither Mat Staver nor anyone from Liberty Counsel, who have been representing Miller, have had any comment, despite the fact that they have spent the last several years turning Miller into a right-wing hero, even creating a Facebook page to support her.
So while the organization apparently has nothing to say about the fact that the "ex-gay" Christian woman they represent has disappeared with her daughter rather than abide by court orders, Liberty Counsel does have the time to issue new press releases claiming that abortion coverage in healthcare legislation is unconstitutional.
Here is a CNN segment on the case, via Truth Wins Out:
