About Columbia Ultimate Kory Wright, kidnapping bastard!
by Sean Cruz
Portland, Oregon--The last thing I ever expected to see displayed on my monitor was probably this: a photograph of Kory Wright, one of the core group of kidnappers who caused my four children to disappear from their homes in Aloha and Hillsboro in Washington County in February, 1996.
My children had a home in Hillsboro with their mother and her third husband (who were divorcing), and a home a bike ride away in Aloha, with me and my mother, Olive Cruz.
I was my mother’s sole caregiver at the time. She was frail, elderly and had been housebound for years. We had a three-generation household. Our home was the most stable part of my children’s lives; especially with their mother in mid-divorce and on her way to yet another failed marriage (#4) in Utah and then another (#5) in California.
But that was another life, other lives, in a faraway place and time, when my children enjoyed the legal protection of an Order for Joint Custody, before Kory Wright and his associates schemed to take my children out of school and disappear….
Back to the present….
On a hunch, expand the search from Utah…Google…and there it was….the face of the Devil himself, aka Beelzebub, Old Stinky, Diabolus…Kory Wright.
http://www.columbiaultimate.com/about/management.aspx
A resident of Utah at the time my children disappeared, this kidnapping bastard Kory Wright had moved back to the original scene of the crime to raise his own children while mine were being moved from place to place across God-forsaken Utah.
I never thought he would ever want to leave Utah, much less move to the Kidnap Zone, where the crime began.
Some people think that once the statute of limitations runs and no criminal prosecution is possible, the crime is forgotten.
But kidnappings stretch out into infinity, take my word for it…now that my son Aaron is dead, the victim of long-term medical neglect, heartbreak and abandonment, the victim of Kory Wright’s kidnapping plans, now that my mother is dead, having never seen or heard from her grandchildren again, Kory Wright’s zeal at carrying out an old-fashioned Mormon shunning….
Kory Wright arranged for the housing in Utah used to conceal my children, executing a plan that had been in the making for some months, acting in his capacity as a Mormon church official, and later committed perjury in the misdirection campaign the abduction team ran to shield themselves from criminal prosecution.
One crime begets another…and another…and another….
This plan also required the assistance of two of Kory Wright’s associates, whose part in the crime was to help get the kids out of school and on the road: David Holiday and Evelyn Taylor, both of Washington County, both officials of the Mormon Church, both acting in their official church capacities and in their roles in the LDS seminary program they were running at Hillsboro High School.
Three weeks after they disappeared, I still had no information about my children.
But Kory Wright, Evelyn Taylor, David Holliday and their Mormon associates knew exactly where they were.
Months went by. My children’s former schools in the Hillsboro School District received no requests for records from anywhere….
They were moving my children from place to place. This is the chaotic life that kidnapped children live.
Later, I received a copy of Kory Wright’s sworn affidavit, dated March 2, 1996, which states in part:
“I, Kory Wright declare under penalty of perjury of the laws of the State of Utah that the following statements are true and correct….
“In the short period they have lived here the children have increased their circle of friends, been involved in numerous activities and made a home for themselves. The schools they children attend are among the best in the state of Utah…. Clearly, the move here has been a tremendous benefit to both Gina and her children.
“If Shaun (sic) is truly seeking that which is best for his children, then let them live where they are the happiest. The economic boom in Utah would afford Shaun (sic) ample opportunity to provide for him as well as his support obligations. Since he currently has no employment restrictions keeping him in the Northwest, a relocation would not be difficult for him.”
That last paragraph has always had me wondering. I was fired from my job two weeks after my children disappeared, a week before Kory Wright wrote this statement.
….And at that moment, 800 miles away, in the mountains east of Ogden, Kory Wright contemplates my employment opportunities in Utah, extends an invitation via the Clark County Courthouse….
My employer was very explicit about the reason for terminating me: I didn’t have my mind on my job.
No doubt about that point; no argument at all. My mind was on nothing but my missing children and how to care for my mother. My job was definitely not in the top two.
Meanwhile, all of my children’s mail was secretly being forwarded to Evelyn Taylor in Washington County, mere blocks away from the abduction site, instead of wherever they were holding my children.
They tried to think of everything. Months of planning, secret meetings, budgeting….
Here’s what Oregon statute has to say about it, in the language of criminal law:
163.245 Custodial interference in the second degree. (1) A person commits the crime of custodial interference in the second degree if, knowing or having reason to know that the person has no legal right to do so, the person takes, entices or keeps another person from the other person’s lawful custodian or in violation of a valid joint custody order with intent to hold the other person permanently or for a protracted period.
(2) Expenses incurred by a lawful custodial parent or a parent enforcing a valid joint custody order in locating and regaining physical custody of the person taken, enticed or kept in violation of this section are “economic damages” for purposes of restitution under ORS 137.103 to 137.109.
(3) Custodial interference in the second degree is a Class C felony.
163.257 Custodial interference in the first degree. (1) A person commits the crime of custodial interference in the first degree if the person violates ORS 163.245 and:
(a) Causes the person taken, enticed or kept from the lawful custodian or in violation of a valid joint custody order to be removed from the state; or
(b) Exposes that person to a substantial risk of illness or physical injury.
(2) Expenses incurred by a lawful custodial parent or a parent enforcing a valid joint custody order in locating and regaining physical custody of the person taken, enticed or kept in violation of this section are “economic damages” for purposes of restitution under ORS 137.103 to 137.109.
(3) Custodial interference in the first degree is a Class B felony.
It boils down to this:
A. Take, entice or keep a child in violation of a valid joint custody order: Class “C” felony.
B. Take the child out of the state of Oregon OR expose that child to a substantial risk of illness of physical injury: Class “B” felony.
Guilty on both counts, guilty as Sin itself, each of them.
To this day, I have no information as to how long Kory Wright and his associates kept my children out of school.
I do know that my children never recovered academically from the abduction, and I learned in 2007 that both of my sons had dropped out of high school five years after arriving in Utah, both with academic grade point averages that had fallen to 0.0. Zero Point Zero!
Kory Wright identifies himself in the affidavit as functioning in the capacity of a counselor or mediator, using both words to suggest to the Court some form of professional capacity or relationship.
But according to the Columbia Ultimate website, the company’s mainstay is “collecting money.”
http://www.columbiaultimate.com/about/press/112106.aspx
More on this later.
Count on it.
=================
Sean Cruz writes Blogolitical Sean: www.blogoliticalsean.blogspot.com
And Aaron’s Law:www.aaronslaw.blogspot.com
Dedicated to ending child abduction and finding justice for the abduction of the Cruz children.
Showing posts with label CUBS Vancouver. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CUBS Vancouver. Show all posts
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Some parents express their sickness by kidnapping their own children
By Sean Cruz
Susan Nielson's column in The Oregonian on the tragedy at Sellwood Bridge prompted me to post the following comments:
Some parents express their sickness in dramatic ways, by committing murder, by throwing their children off bridges, by drowning them like unwanted kittens.
Some parents express their sickness through neglect, with horrific results.
These cases command a great deal of attention, of public discussion, because they speak so directly to who we are as human beings, as parents ourselves.
The issues are clear, direct, and most of all, visible.
Other parents express their sickness in ways that are not so visible, not so easily understood, the legal issues may be cloudy, and with little physical evidence of the damage done to the child(ren).
These parents kidnap their own children and disappear, leaving nothing visible behind, no corpse, nothing for the media or the public to discuss, to care about.
My four children disappeared from Oregon 14 years ago in a kidnapping organized by Kory Wright, a Mormon zealot and an employee of Columbia Ultimate in Vancouver; the crime noted in The Oregonian’s August 1996 editorial “Say Yes for Kids.”
My son Aaron died in 2005, essentially from long-term medical neglect, heartbreak and abandonment, alone in an empty house in Payson, Utah, where his mother had taken him and then left him behind.
The Oregon legislature passed Senate Bill 1041 (Aaron’s Law) in 2005, shortly after I buried my son, his arms covered with the scars of self-inflicted knife wounds, cuts he made in the months following the abduction, when he was largely under the control of Kory Wright, a Mormon zealot carrying out an old-fashioned Mormon shunning.
Aaron’s Law is a landmark bill, first-in-the-nation legislation, providing both victims and Oregon courts more tools to resolve and prevent child abduction, recognizing the emotional and psychological harm that child victims suffer when kidnapped by persons they love and trust.
One of Aaron’s Law’s most important clauses authorizes the court to order counseling sessions directed at educating the parents to the harm that their conduct is inflicting on their own children.
Most parents understand the difference between what is harmful and what is not and can be fairly objective about it, but every now and then something like the Sellwood case surfaces and we are reminded that this fundamental essence of our humanity cannot be completely taken for granted.
It is far more common for a parent to kidnap a child than to commit murder, but both actions have permanent consequences.
On the day that this mother expressed her sickness by throwing her two small children off of the Sellwood bridge, I discovered a photograph posted on the internet that illustrates the sickness of a parent that kidnaps her own children:
The photograph is of a toddler, 18-24 months old is my guess. No name is posted.
The photograph tells me that somewhere in this world, I have a grandchild.
My grandchild’s very existence is a secret, the photograph confirming that this child will be raised in a web of lies.
Somewhere, a parent expresses her sickness through her grandchild, through my grandchild, and on to a second generation of victims.
www.aaronslaw.blogspot.com
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/susan_nielsen/index.ssf/2009/05/the_tragedy_on_sellwood_bridge.html
Susan Nielson's column in The Oregonian on the tragedy at Sellwood Bridge prompted me to post the following comments:
Some parents express their sickness in dramatic ways, by committing murder, by throwing their children off bridges, by drowning them like unwanted kittens.
Some parents express their sickness through neglect, with horrific results.
These cases command a great deal of attention, of public discussion, because they speak so directly to who we are as human beings, as parents ourselves.
The issues are clear, direct, and most of all, visible.
Other parents express their sickness in ways that are not so visible, not so easily understood, the legal issues may be cloudy, and with little physical evidence of the damage done to the child(ren).
These parents kidnap their own children and disappear, leaving nothing visible behind, no corpse, nothing for the media or the public to discuss, to care about.
My four children disappeared from Oregon 14 years ago in a kidnapping organized by Kory Wright, a Mormon zealot and an employee of Columbia Ultimate in Vancouver; the crime noted in The Oregonian’s August 1996 editorial “Say Yes for Kids.”
My son Aaron died in 2005, essentially from long-term medical neglect, heartbreak and abandonment, alone in an empty house in Payson, Utah, where his mother had taken him and then left him behind.
The Oregon legislature passed Senate Bill 1041 (Aaron’s Law) in 2005, shortly after I buried my son, his arms covered with the scars of self-inflicted knife wounds, cuts he made in the months following the abduction, when he was largely under the control of Kory Wright, a Mormon zealot carrying out an old-fashioned Mormon shunning.
Aaron’s Law is a landmark bill, first-in-the-nation legislation, providing both victims and Oregon courts more tools to resolve and prevent child abduction, recognizing the emotional and psychological harm that child victims suffer when kidnapped by persons they love and trust.
One of Aaron’s Law’s most important clauses authorizes the court to order counseling sessions directed at educating the parents to the harm that their conduct is inflicting on their own children.
Most parents understand the difference between what is harmful and what is not and can be fairly objective about it, but every now and then something like the Sellwood case surfaces and we are reminded that this fundamental essence of our humanity cannot be completely taken for granted.
It is far more common for a parent to kidnap a child than to commit murder, but both actions have permanent consequences.
On the day that this mother expressed her sickness by throwing her two small children off of the Sellwood bridge, I discovered a photograph posted on the internet that illustrates the sickness of a parent that kidnaps her own children:
The photograph is of a toddler, 18-24 months old is my guess. No name is posted.
The photograph tells me that somewhere in this world, I have a grandchild.
My grandchild’s very existence is a secret, the photograph confirming that this child will be raised in a web of lies.
Somewhere, a parent expresses her sickness through her grandchild, through my grandchild, and on to a second generation of victims.
www.aaronslaw.blogspot.com
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/susan_nielsen/index.ssf/2009/05/the_tragedy_on_sellwood_bridge.html
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Some parents express their sickness in dramatic ways, by committing murder....
by Sean Cruz
Susan Nielson's column in The Oregonian on the tragedy at Sellwood Bridge prompted me to post the following comments:
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/susan_nielsen/index.ssf/2009/05/the_tragedy_on_sellwood_bridge.html
Portland, Oregon--Some parents express their sickness in dramatic ways, by committing murder, by throwing their children off bridges, by drowning them like unwanted kittens.
Some parents express their sickness through neglect, with horrific results.
These cases command a great deal of attention, of public discussion, because they speak so directly to who we are as human beings, as parents ourselves.
The issues are clear, direct, and most of all, visible.
Other parents express their sickness in ways that are not so visible, not so easily understood, the issues cloudy, and with little physical evidence of the damage done to the child(ren).
These parents kidnap their own children and disappear, leaving nothing visible behind, no corpse, nothing for the media or the public to discuss, to care about.
My four children disappeared from Oregon 14 years ago; the crime noted in The Oregonian’s August 1996 editorial “Say Yes for Kids.”
My son Aaron died in 2005, essentially from long-term medical neglect, heartbreak and abandonment, alone in an empty house in Payson, Utah, where his mother had taken him and then left him behind.
The Oregon legislature passed Senate Bill 1041 (Aaron’s Law) in 2005, shortly after I buried my son, his arms covered with the scars of self-inflicted knife wounds, cuts he made in the months following the abduction.
Aaron’s Law is a landmark bill, first-in-the-nation legislation, providing both victims and Oregon courts more tools to resolve and prevent child abduction, recognizing the emotional and psychological harm that child victims suffer when kidnapped by persons they love and trust.
One of Aaron’s Law’s most important clauses authorizes the court to order counseling sessions directed at educating the parents to the harm that their conduct is inflicting on their own children.
Most parents understand the difference between what is harmful and what is not and can be fairly objective about it, but every now and then something like the Sellwood case surfaces and we are reminded that this fundamental essence of our humanity cannot be completely taken for granted.
It is far more common for a parent to kidnap a child than to commit murder, but both actions have permanent consequences.
On the day that this mother expressed her sickness by throwing her two small children off of the Sellwood bridge, I discovered a photograph posted on the internet that illustrates the sickness of a parent that kidnaps her own children:
The photograph is of a toddler, 18-24 months old is my guess. No name is posted.
The photograph tells me that somewhere in this world, I have a grandchild.
My grandchild’s very existence is a secret, the photograph confirming that this child will be raised in a web of lies.
Somewhere, a parent expresses her sickness through her grandchild, through my grandchild, and on to a second generation of victims.
Susan Nielson's column in The Oregonian on the tragedy at Sellwood Bridge prompted me to post the following comments:
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/susan_nielsen/index.ssf/2009/05/the_tragedy_on_sellwood_bridge.html
Portland, Oregon--Some parents express their sickness in dramatic ways, by committing murder, by throwing their children off bridges, by drowning them like unwanted kittens.
Some parents express their sickness through neglect, with horrific results.
These cases command a great deal of attention, of public discussion, because they speak so directly to who we are as human beings, as parents ourselves.
The issues are clear, direct, and most of all, visible.
Other parents express their sickness in ways that are not so visible, not so easily understood, the issues cloudy, and with little physical evidence of the damage done to the child(ren).
These parents kidnap their own children and disappear, leaving nothing visible behind, no corpse, nothing for the media or the public to discuss, to care about.
My four children disappeared from Oregon 14 years ago; the crime noted in The Oregonian’s August 1996 editorial “Say Yes for Kids.”
My son Aaron died in 2005, essentially from long-term medical neglect, heartbreak and abandonment, alone in an empty house in Payson, Utah, where his mother had taken him and then left him behind.
The Oregon legislature passed Senate Bill 1041 (Aaron’s Law) in 2005, shortly after I buried my son, his arms covered with the scars of self-inflicted knife wounds, cuts he made in the months following the abduction.
Aaron’s Law is a landmark bill, first-in-the-nation legislation, providing both victims and Oregon courts more tools to resolve and prevent child abduction, recognizing the emotional and psychological harm that child victims suffer when kidnapped by persons they love and trust.
One of Aaron’s Law’s most important clauses authorizes the court to order counseling sessions directed at educating the parents to the harm that their conduct is inflicting on their own children.
Most parents understand the difference between what is harmful and what is not and can be fairly objective about it, but every now and then something like the Sellwood case surfaces and we are reminded that this fundamental essence of our humanity cannot be completely taken for granted.
It is far more common for a parent to kidnap a child than to commit murder, but both actions have permanent consequences.
On the day that this mother expressed her sickness by throwing her two small children off of the Sellwood bridge, I discovered a photograph posted on the internet that illustrates the sickness of a parent that kidnaps her own children:
The photograph is of a toddler, 18-24 months old is my guess. No name is posted.
The photograph tells me that somewhere in this world, I have a grandchild.
My grandchild’s very existence is a secret, the photograph confirming that this child will be raised in a web of lies.
Somewhere, a parent expresses her sickness through her grandchild, through my grandchild, and on to a second generation of victims.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Thoughts on Aaron's birthday 2009
Today, March 21, is/was/would-have-been my late son Aaron’s birthday.
I’m spending the day getting my vegetable garden ready for planting, thinking about my son, about how happy he was to be home here with me for those few precious months in 2003….
Turning the soil, making some new raised beds, carrots on my mind….
Aaron was the most willing of my four children to work in the garden with me, more than willing, actually....
I have dozens of photos of Aaron at different ages, in a succession of gardens, the seasons changing, so clearly happy to be working with me in the earth, with the water, caring for the growing corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers….
Like my father and I, like my father and his, extending as far back beyond memory as life itself: the corn, the tomatoes, the cactus, jalapenos, tortillas fresh with the dawn…frijoles…all the way back to the beginning…before the Spanish came ashore…there were the vegetable gardens…there was the squash....
Each of my four children were/are beautiful in their own unique ways, four original personalities, overflowing with enthusiasm, life did not get better than this…I have the photographs, the videotape, to prove it….
The kidnapping changed all of that….
Aaron was like a growing stalk of tall corn, promise in every kernel, yanked out of the open soil, crammed into a pot way too small, force-fed the Mormon Kool-Aid….
More on this later….
I’m spending the day getting my vegetable garden ready for planting, thinking about my son, about how happy he was to be home here with me for those few precious months in 2003….
Turning the soil, making some new raised beds, carrots on my mind….
Aaron was the most willing of my four children to work in the garden with me, more than willing, actually....
I have dozens of photos of Aaron at different ages, in a succession of gardens, the seasons changing, so clearly happy to be working with me in the earth, with the water, caring for the growing corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers….
Like my father and I, like my father and his, extending as far back beyond memory as life itself: the corn, the tomatoes, the cactus, jalapenos, tortillas fresh with the dawn…frijoles…all the way back to the beginning…before the Spanish came ashore…there were the vegetable gardens…there was the squash....
Each of my four children were/are beautiful in their own unique ways, four original personalities, overflowing with enthusiasm, life did not get better than this…I have the photographs, the videotape, to prove it….
The kidnapping changed all of that….
Aaron was like a growing stalk of tall corn, promise in every kernel, yanked out of the open soil, crammed into a pot way too small, force-fed the Mormon Kool-Aid….
On Aaron's birthday, 2009
Today, March 21, is/was/would-have-been my late son Aaron’s birthday.
I’m spending the day getting my vegetable garden ready for planting, thinking about my son, about how happy he was to be home here with me for those few precious months in 2003….
Turning the soil, making some new raised beds, carrots on my mind….
Aaron was the most willing of my four children to work in the garden with me, and I have dozens of photos of Aaron at different ages, in a succession of gardens, the seasons changing, so clearly happy to be working with me in the earth, with the water, caring for the growing corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers….
Like my father and I, like my father and his, extending as far back beyond memory as life itself: the corn, the tomatoes, the cactus, jalapenos, tortillas fresh with the dawn…frijoles…all the way back to the beginning…before the Spanish came ashore…there were the vegetable gardens….
Each of my four children were/are beautiful in their own unique ways, four original personalities, overflowing with enthusiasm, life did not get better than this…I have the photographs, the videotape, to prove it….
The kidnapping changed all of that….
Aaron was like a growing stalk of corn, promise in every kernel, yanked out of the open soil, crammed into a pot way too small, force-fed the Mormon Kool-Aid….
More on this later….
I’m spending the day getting my vegetable garden ready for planting, thinking about my son, about how happy he was to be home here with me for those few precious months in 2003….
Turning the soil, making some new raised beds, carrots on my mind….
Aaron was the most willing of my four children to work in the garden with me, and I have dozens of photos of Aaron at different ages, in a succession of gardens, the seasons changing, so clearly happy to be working with me in the earth, with the water, caring for the growing corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers….
Like my father and I, like my father and his, extending as far back beyond memory as life itself: the corn, the tomatoes, the cactus, jalapenos, tortillas fresh with the dawn…frijoles…all the way back to the beginning…before the Spanish came ashore…there were the vegetable gardens….
Each of my four children were/are beautiful in their own unique ways, four original personalities, overflowing with enthusiasm, life did not get better than this…I have the photographs, the videotape, to prove it….
The kidnapping changed all of that….
Aaron was like a growing stalk of corn, promise in every kernel, yanked out of the open soil, crammed into a pot way too small, force-fed the Mormon Kool-Aid….
Sunday, December 21, 2008
About Columbia Ultimate Vancouver Mormon Kory Wright, kidnapping bastard!
Portland, Oregon--
The last thing I ever expected to see displayed on my monitor was probably this, a photograph of Kory Wright, one of the core group of kidnappers who caused my four children to disappear from their homes in Aloha and Hillsboro in Washington County in February, 1996.
My children had a home in Hillsboro with their mother and her third husband (who were divorcing), and a home a bike ride away in Aloha, with me and my mother, Olive Cruz.
I was my mother’s sole caregiver at the time. She was frail, elderly and had been housebound for years. We had a three-generation household. Our home was the most stable part of my children’s lives; especially with their mother in mid-divorce and on her way to yet another failed marriage (#4).
But that was another life, other lives, in a faraway place and time.
Back to the present….
On a hunch, expand the search from Utah, Google….
And there it was….the face of the Devil himself, aka Beelzebub, Old Stinky, Diabolus…Kory Wright, here:
http://www.columbiaultimate.com/about/management.aspx
A resident of Utah at the time my children disappeared, this kidnapping bastard Kory Wright had moved back to the original scene of the crime.
I never thought he would ever want to leave Utah, much less move to the Kidnap Zone, where the crime began.
Some people think, apparently, that once the statute of limitations runs and no criminal prosecution is possible, the crime is forgotten.
But kidnappings stretch out into infinity, take my word for it….
Kory Wright arranged for the housing in Utah used to conceal my children, executing a plan that had been in the making for some months, acting in his capacity as a Mormon church official, and later committed perjury in the misdirection campaign the abduction team ran to shield themselves from criminal prosecution.
One crime begets another…and another…and another….
This plan also required the assistance of two of Kory Wright’s associates, whose part in the crime was to help get the kids out of school and on the road: David Holiday and Evelyn Taylor, both of Washington County, both officials of the Mormon Church, both acting in their official capacities.
Three weeks after they disappeared, I still had no information about my children.
But Kory Wright, Evelyn Taylor, David Holliday and their Mormon associates knew exactly where they were, just as they knew they were violating a valid court order for joint custody.
Months went by. My children’s former schools in the Hillsboro School District received no requests for records from anywhere….
They were moving my children from place to place. This is the chaotic life that kidnapped children live.
Later, I received a copy of Kory Wright’s sworn affidavit, dated March 2, 1996, long before I learned where my children had been take, which states in part:
“I, Kory Wright declare under penalty of perjury of the laws of the State of Utah that the following statements are true and correct….
“In the short period they have lived here the children have increased their circle of friends, been involved in numerous activities and made a home for themselves. The schools they children attend are among the best in the state of Utah…. Clearly, the move here has been a tremendous benefit to both Gina and her children.
“If Shaun (sic) is truly seeking that which is best for his children, then let them live where they are the happiest. The economic boom in Utah would afford Shaun (sic) ample opportunity to provide for him as well as his support obligations. Since he currently has no employment restrictions keeping him in the Northwest, a relocation would not be difficult for him.”
That last paragraph has always had me wondering. I was fired from my job at Vic Alfonso Cadillac two weeks after my children disappeared, a week before Kory Wright wrote this statement.
….And at that moment, 800 miles away, in the mountains east of Ogden, Kory Wright contemplates my employment opportunities in Utah, extends an invitation via the Clark County Courthouse.
My employer was very explicit about the reason for terminating me: I didn’t have my mind on my job.
No doubt about that point; no argument at all. My mind was on nothing but my missing children and how to care for my mother. My job was definitely not in the top two.
Meanwhile, all of my children’s mail was secretly being forwarded to Evelyn Taylor in Washington County, mere blocks away from the abduction site, instead of wherever they were holding my children.
They tried to think of everything. Months of planning, secret meetings, budgeting….
Here’s what Oregon statute has to say about it, in the language of criminal law:
163.245 Custodial interference in the second degree. (1) A person commits the crime of custodial interference in the second degree if, knowing or having reason to know that the person has no legal right to do so, the person takes, entices or keeps another person from the other person’s lawful custodian or in violation of a valid joint custody order with intent to hold the other person permanently or for a protracted period.
(2) Expenses incurred by a lawful custodial parent or a parent enforcing a valid joint custody order in locating and regaining physical custody of the person taken, enticed or kept in violation of this section are “economic damages” for purposes of restitution under ORS 137.103 to 137.109.
(3) Custodial interference in the second degree is a Class C felony.
163.257 Custodial interference in the first degree. (1) A person commits the crime of custodial interference in the first degree if the person violates ORS 163.245 and:
(a) Causes the person taken, enticed or kept from the lawful custodian or in violation of a valid joint custody order to be removed from the state; or
(b) Exposes that person to a substantial risk of illness or physical injury.
(2) Expenses incurred by a lawful custodial parent or a parent enforcing a valid joint custody order in locating and regaining physical custody of the person taken, enticed or kept in violation of this section are “economic damages” for purposes of restitution under ORS 137.103 to 137.109.
(3) Custodial interference in the first degree is a Class B felony.
It boils down to this:
A. Take, entice or keep a child in violation of a valid joint custody order: Class “C” felony.
B. Take the child out of the state of Oregon OR expose that child to a substantial risk of illness of physical injury: Class “B” felony.
Guilty on both counts, guilty as Sin itself, each of them.
To this day, I have no information as to how long Kory Wright and his associates kept my children out of school.
I do know that my children never recovered academically from the abduction, and I learned in 2007 that both of my sons had dropped out of high school five years after arriving in Utah, both with academic grade point averages that had fallen to 0.0.
Kory Wright identifies himself in the affidavit as functioning in the capacity of a counselor or mediator, using both words to suggest to the Court some form of professional capacity or relationship.
But according to the Columbia Ultimate website, the company’s mainstay is “collecting money.”
http://www.columbiaultimate.com/about/press/112106.aspx
More on this later.
Count on it.
=================
Sean Cruz writes Blogolitical Sean: www.blogoliticalsean.blogspot.com
And Aaron’s Law:
www.aaronslaw.blogspot.com
Dedicated to ending child abduction and finding justice for the abduction of the Cruz children.
The last thing I ever expected to see displayed on my monitor was probably this, a photograph of Kory Wright, one of the core group of kidnappers who caused my four children to disappear from their homes in Aloha and Hillsboro in Washington County in February, 1996.
My children had a home in Hillsboro with their mother and her third husband (who were divorcing), and a home a bike ride away in Aloha, with me and my mother, Olive Cruz.
I was my mother’s sole caregiver at the time. She was frail, elderly and had been housebound for years. We had a three-generation household. Our home was the most stable part of my children’s lives; especially with their mother in mid-divorce and on her way to yet another failed marriage (#4).
But that was another life, other lives, in a faraway place and time.
Back to the present….
On a hunch, expand the search from Utah, Google….
And there it was….the face of the Devil himself, aka Beelzebub, Old Stinky, Diabolus…Kory Wright, here:
http://www.columbiaultimate.com/about/management.aspx
A resident of Utah at the time my children disappeared, this kidnapping bastard Kory Wright had moved back to the original scene of the crime.
I never thought he would ever want to leave Utah, much less move to the Kidnap Zone, where the crime began.
Some people think, apparently, that once the statute of limitations runs and no criminal prosecution is possible, the crime is forgotten.
But kidnappings stretch out into infinity, take my word for it….
Kory Wright arranged for the housing in Utah used to conceal my children, executing a plan that had been in the making for some months, acting in his capacity as a Mormon church official, and later committed perjury in the misdirection campaign the abduction team ran to shield themselves from criminal prosecution.
One crime begets another…and another…and another….
This plan also required the assistance of two of Kory Wright’s associates, whose part in the crime was to help get the kids out of school and on the road: David Holiday and Evelyn Taylor, both of Washington County, both officials of the Mormon Church, both acting in their official capacities.
Three weeks after they disappeared, I still had no information about my children.
But Kory Wright, Evelyn Taylor, David Holliday and their Mormon associates knew exactly where they were, just as they knew they were violating a valid court order for joint custody.
Months went by. My children’s former schools in the Hillsboro School District received no requests for records from anywhere….
They were moving my children from place to place. This is the chaotic life that kidnapped children live.
Later, I received a copy of Kory Wright’s sworn affidavit, dated March 2, 1996, long before I learned where my children had been take, which states in part:
“I, Kory Wright declare under penalty of perjury of the laws of the State of Utah that the following statements are true and correct….
“In the short period they have lived here the children have increased their circle of friends, been involved in numerous activities and made a home for themselves. The schools they children attend are among the best in the state of Utah…. Clearly, the move here has been a tremendous benefit to both Gina and her children.
“If Shaun (sic) is truly seeking that which is best for his children, then let them live where they are the happiest. The economic boom in Utah would afford Shaun (sic) ample opportunity to provide for him as well as his support obligations. Since he currently has no employment restrictions keeping him in the Northwest, a relocation would not be difficult for him.”
That last paragraph has always had me wondering. I was fired from my job at Vic Alfonso Cadillac two weeks after my children disappeared, a week before Kory Wright wrote this statement.
….And at that moment, 800 miles away, in the mountains east of Ogden, Kory Wright contemplates my employment opportunities in Utah, extends an invitation via the Clark County Courthouse.
My employer was very explicit about the reason for terminating me: I didn’t have my mind on my job.
No doubt about that point; no argument at all. My mind was on nothing but my missing children and how to care for my mother. My job was definitely not in the top two.
Meanwhile, all of my children’s mail was secretly being forwarded to Evelyn Taylor in Washington County, mere blocks away from the abduction site, instead of wherever they were holding my children.
They tried to think of everything. Months of planning, secret meetings, budgeting….
Here’s what Oregon statute has to say about it, in the language of criminal law:
163.245 Custodial interference in the second degree. (1) A person commits the crime of custodial interference in the second degree if, knowing or having reason to know that the person has no legal right to do so, the person takes, entices or keeps another person from the other person’s lawful custodian or in violation of a valid joint custody order with intent to hold the other person permanently or for a protracted period.
(2) Expenses incurred by a lawful custodial parent or a parent enforcing a valid joint custody order in locating and regaining physical custody of the person taken, enticed or kept in violation of this section are “economic damages” for purposes of restitution under ORS 137.103 to 137.109.
(3) Custodial interference in the second degree is a Class C felony.
163.257 Custodial interference in the first degree. (1) A person commits the crime of custodial interference in the first degree if the person violates ORS 163.245 and:
(a) Causes the person taken, enticed or kept from the lawful custodian or in violation of a valid joint custody order to be removed from the state; or
(b) Exposes that person to a substantial risk of illness or physical injury.
(2) Expenses incurred by a lawful custodial parent or a parent enforcing a valid joint custody order in locating and regaining physical custody of the person taken, enticed or kept in violation of this section are “economic damages” for purposes of restitution under ORS 137.103 to 137.109.
(3) Custodial interference in the first degree is a Class B felony.
It boils down to this:
A. Take, entice or keep a child in violation of a valid joint custody order: Class “C” felony.
B. Take the child out of the state of Oregon OR expose that child to a substantial risk of illness of physical injury: Class “B” felony.
Guilty on both counts, guilty as Sin itself, each of them.
To this day, I have no information as to how long Kory Wright and his associates kept my children out of school.
I do know that my children never recovered academically from the abduction, and I learned in 2007 that both of my sons had dropped out of high school five years after arriving in Utah, both with academic grade point averages that had fallen to 0.0.
Kory Wright identifies himself in the affidavit as functioning in the capacity of a counselor or mediator, using both words to suggest to the Court some form of professional capacity or relationship.
But according to the Columbia Ultimate website, the company’s mainstay is “collecting money.”
http://www.columbiaultimate.com/about/press/112106.aspx
Count on it.
=================
Sean Cruz writes Blogolitical Sean: www.blogoliticalsean.blogspot.com
And Aaron’s Law:
www.aaronslaw.blogspot.com
Dedicated to ending child abduction and finding justice for the abduction of the Cruz children.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Oregon's Aaron's Law designed to prevent child abduction, provide relief to victims
By Sean Cruz
Portland, Oregon—Each year, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, more than 100,000 American children experience the trauma of abduction by a parent, a family member or other persons known to the victim.
Some children are abducted back and forth repeatedly, others disappear forever.
Existing state and federal laws have proven to be inadequate to deal with the problem, as the staggering numbers attest.
In all cases, the harm to the child victim is so severe that the best strategy is to prevent the abduction from taking place in the first place.
Aaron’s Law, passed by the Oregon legislature in 2005, is designed to achieve two goals: (1) discourage child abduction by providing financial sanctions against the perpetrators and requiring them to attend counseling sessions to better understand the harm they are inflicting; and, (2) provide relief to the victims with court-appointed mental health and legal professionals assigned to protect the child.
Aaron’s Law authorizes the court to assess the costs of the professional services to the perpetrators, which ought to serve as an additional discouragement.
Had Aaron’s Law been in effect in 1996, the Cruz children would have never been abducted, and Aaron Cruz would still be alive.
Senate Bill 1041 creates a civil cause of action for the crime of child abduction, applying if the child is removed from the state of Oregon.
Oregon is the first state in the union to take this approach, which is independent of either criminal or traditional family court processes.
The full text of Aaron’s Law follows:
Senate Bill 1041 (2005) AARON’S LAW (for Aaron Cruz)
Sponsored by Senator Avel Gordly
CHAPTER 841 Oregon Revised statutes
AN ACT Relating to custodial interference; and declaring an emergency.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
SECTION 1. (1) Any of the following persons may bring a civil action to secure damages against any and all persons whose actions are unlawful under ORS 163.257 (1)(a):
(a) A person who is 18 years of age or older and who has been taken, enticed or kept in violation of ORS 163.257 (1)(a); or
(b) A person whose custodial rights have been interfered with if, by reason of the interference:
(A) The person has reasonably and in good faith reported a person missing to any city, county or state police agency; or
(B) A defendant in the action has been charged with a violation of ORS 163.257 (1)(a).
(2) An entry of judgment or a certified copy of a judgment against the defendant for a violation of ORS 163.257 (1)(a) is prima facie evidence of liability if the plaintiff was injured by the defendant’s unlawful action under the conviction.
(3)(a) For purposes of this section, a public or private entity that provides counseling and shelter services to victims of domestic violence is not considered to have violated ORS 163.257 (1)(a) if the entity provides counseling or shelter services to a person who violates ORS 163.257 (1)(a).
(b) As used in this subsection, “victim of domestic violence” means an individual against whom domestic violence, as defined in ORS 135.230, 181.610, 411.117 or 657.176, has been committed.
(4) Bringing an action under this section does not prevent the prosecution of any criminal action under ORS 163.257.
(5) A person bringing an action under this section must establish by a preponderance of the evidence that a violation of ORS 163.257 (1)(a) has occurred.
(6) It is an affirmative defense to civil liability for an action under this section that the defendant reasonably and in good faith believed that the defendant’s violation of ORS 163.257(1)(a) was necessary to preserve the physical safety of: (a) The defendant; (b) The person who was taken, enticed or kept in violation of ORS 163.257 (1)(a); or (c) The parent or guardian of the person who was taken, enticed or kept in violation of
ORS 163.257 (1)(a).
(7)(a) If the person taken, enticed or kept in violation of ORS 163.257 (1)(a) is under 18 years of age at the time an action is brought under this section, the court may:
(A) Appoint an attorney who is licensed to practice law in Oregon to act as guardian ad litem for the person; and
(B) Appoint one of the following persons to provide counseling services to the person:
(i) A psychiatrist.
(ii) A psychologist licensed under ORS 675.010 to 675.150.
(iii) A clinical social worker licensed under ORS 675.510 to 675.600.
(iv) A professional counselor or marriage and family therapist licensed under ORS 675.715.
(b) The court may assess against the parties all costs of the attorney or person providing counseling services appointed under this subsection.
(8) If an action is brought under this section by a person described under subsection (1)(b) of this section and a party shows good cause that it is appropriate to do so, the court may order the parties to obtain counseling directed toward educating the parties on the impact that the parties’ conflict has on the person taken, enticed or kept in violation of ORS 163.257 (1)(a). The court may assess against the parties all costs of obtaining counseling ordered under this subsection.
(9) Upon prevailing in an action under this section, the plaintiff may recover:(a) Special and general damages, including damages for emotional distress; and (b) Punitive damages.
(10) The court may award reasonable attorney fees to the prevailing party in an action under this section.
(11)(a) Notwithstanding ORS 12.110, 12.115, 12.117 or 12.160, an action under this section must be commenced within six years after the violation of ORS 163.257 (1)(a). An action under this section accruing while the person who is entitled to bring the action is under 18 years of age must be commenced not more than six years after that person attains 18 years of age.
(b) The period of limitation does not run during any time when the person taken, enticed or kept in violation of ORS 163.257 (1)(a) is removed from this state as a result of the defendants actions in violation of ORS 163.257 (1)(a).
SECTION 2. Section 1 of this 2005 Act applies to causes of action arising on or after the effective date of this 2005 Act.
SECTION 3. This 2005 Act being necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health and safety, an emergency is declared to exist, and this 2005 Act takes effect on its passage.
Passed by Senate August 1, 2005
Passed by House August 3, 2005
Approved by Governor: October 13, 2005
Filed in Office of Secretary of State:
Aaron’s Law may apply to any Oregon child abduction occurring after the date the Governor signed the bill into law.
Aaron Cruz was kidnapped along with his brother and two sisters on February 12, 1996 and concealed in various locations in Oregon, Washington and Utah.
Portland, Oregon—Each year, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, more than 100,000 American children experience the trauma of abduction by a parent, a family member or other persons known to the victim.
Some children are abducted back and forth repeatedly, others disappear forever.
Existing state and federal laws have proven to be inadequate to deal with the problem, as the staggering numbers attest.
In all cases, the harm to the child victim is so severe that the best strategy is to prevent the abduction from taking place in the first place.
Aaron’s Law, passed by the Oregon legislature in 2005, is designed to achieve two goals: (1) discourage child abduction by providing financial sanctions against the perpetrators and requiring them to attend counseling sessions to better understand the harm they are inflicting; and, (2) provide relief to the victims with court-appointed mental health and legal professionals assigned to protect the child.
Aaron’s Law authorizes the court to assess the costs of the professional services to the perpetrators, which ought to serve as an additional discouragement.
Had Aaron’s Law been in effect in 1996, the Cruz children would have never been abducted, and Aaron Cruz would still be alive.
Senate Bill 1041 creates a civil cause of action for the crime of child abduction, applying if the child is removed from the state of Oregon.
Oregon is the first state in the union to take this approach, which is independent of either criminal or traditional family court processes.
The full text of Aaron’s Law follows:
Senate Bill 1041 (2005) AARON’S LAW (for Aaron Cruz)
Sponsored by Senator Avel Gordly
CHAPTER 841 Oregon Revised statutes
AN ACT Relating to custodial interference; and declaring an emergency.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
SECTION 1. (1) Any of the following persons may bring a civil action to secure damages against any and all persons whose actions are unlawful under ORS 163.257 (1)(a):
(a) A person who is 18 years of age or older and who has been taken, enticed or kept in violation of ORS 163.257 (1)(a); or
(b) A person whose custodial rights have been interfered with if, by reason of the interference:
(A) The person has reasonably and in good faith reported a person missing to any city, county or state police agency; or
(B) A defendant in the action has been charged with a violation of ORS 163.257 (1)(a).
(2) An entry of judgment or a certified copy of a judgment against the defendant for a violation of ORS 163.257 (1)(a) is prima facie evidence of liability if the plaintiff was injured by the defendant’s unlawful action under the conviction.
(3)(a) For purposes of this section, a public or private entity that provides counseling and shelter services to victims of domestic violence is not considered to have violated ORS 163.257 (1)(a) if the entity provides counseling or shelter services to a person who violates ORS 163.257 (1)(a).
(b) As used in this subsection, “victim of domestic violence” means an individual against whom domestic violence, as defined in ORS 135.230, 181.610, 411.117 or 657.176, has been committed.
(4) Bringing an action under this section does not prevent the prosecution of any criminal action under ORS 163.257.
(5) A person bringing an action under this section must establish by a preponderance of the evidence that a violation of ORS 163.257 (1)(a) has occurred.
(6) It is an affirmative defense to civil liability for an action under this section that the defendant reasonably and in good faith believed that the defendant’s violation of ORS 163.257(1)(a) was necessary to preserve the physical safety of: (a) The defendant; (b) The person who was taken, enticed or kept in violation of ORS 163.257 (1)(a); or (c) The parent or guardian of the person who was taken, enticed or kept in violation of
ORS 163.257 (1)(a).
(7)(a) If the person taken, enticed or kept in violation of ORS 163.257 (1)(a) is under 18 years of age at the time an action is brought under this section, the court may:
(A) Appoint an attorney who is licensed to practice law in Oregon to act as guardian ad litem for the person; and
(B) Appoint one of the following persons to provide counseling services to the person:
(i) A psychiatrist.
(ii) A psychologist licensed under ORS 675.010 to 675.150.
(iii) A clinical social worker licensed under ORS 675.510 to 675.600.
(iv) A professional counselor or marriage and family therapist licensed under ORS 675.715.
(b) The court may assess against the parties all costs of the attorney or person providing counseling services appointed under this subsection.
(8) If an action is brought under this section by a person described under subsection (1)(b) of this section and a party shows good cause that it is appropriate to do so, the court may order the parties to obtain counseling directed toward educating the parties on the impact that the parties’ conflict has on the person taken, enticed or kept in violation of ORS 163.257 (1)(a). The court may assess against the parties all costs of obtaining counseling ordered under this subsection.
(9) Upon prevailing in an action under this section, the plaintiff may recover:(a) Special and general damages, including damages for emotional distress; and (b) Punitive damages.
(10) The court may award reasonable attorney fees to the prevailing party in an action under this section.
(11)(a) Notwithstanding ORS 12.110, 12.115, 12.117 or 12.160, an action under this section must be commenced within six years after the violation of ORS 163.257 (1)(a). An action under this section accruing while the person who is entitled to bring the action is under 18 years of age must be commenced not more than six years after that person attains 18 years of age.
(b) The period of limitation does not run during any time when the person taken, enticed or kept in violation of ORS 163.257 (1)(a) is removed from this state as a result of the defendants actions in violation of ORS 163.257 (1)(a).
SECTION 2. Section 1 of this 2005 Act applies to causes of action arising on or after the effective date of this 2005 Act.
SECTION 3. This 2005 Act being necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health and safety, an emergency is declared to exist, and this 2005 Act takes effect on its passage.
Passed by Senate August 1, 2005
Passed by House August 3, 2005
Approved by Governor: October 13, 2005
Filed in Office of Secretary of State:
Aaron’s Law may apply to any Oregon child abduction occurring after the date the Governor signed the bill into law.
Aaron Cruz was kidnapped along with his brother and two sisters on February 12, 1996 and concealed in various locations in Oregon, Washington and Utah.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Oregon - Washington - Utah Kidnapper Kory Wright Kalls the Kops to Komplain
Talk about irony, the kidnapping bastard Kory Wright went to the Vancouver Police Department to complain about the email I sent to Columbia Ultimate after I found him hiding in plain sight through a Google search.
Here are the links:
http://www.columbiaultimate.com/about/press/112106.aspx
http://www.columbiaultimate.com/about/kory_wright.aspx
A year after Kory Wright and his Washington County associates, David Holiday and Evelyne Taylor, had “taken, enticed and kept” my four children and concealed them in Utah, my son Aaron’s despair was so complete that at the age of 15 he was cutting both of his arms with a knife.
I didn’t see those scars until Aaron was comatose in 2005, and for five days I was at his bedside before they pronounced my son dead, plenty of time to count them and reflect on the pain and hopelessness he suffered—for years.
Kidnapped children lose their access to health care, as the desire of the kidnappers to cover their crimes and escape justice outweighs all else.
Back to the present story, in four parts:
#1—having found the bastard, I wanted him to know, and sent this email to the Columbia Ultimate website:
Kory Wright:
I found you, you bastard.
Sometimes justice never comes, sometimes it takes more than ten years.
A decade after Kory Wright and his associates kidnapped Aaron Cruz and my other three children from their homes in Oregon and sent them out on the road in the middle of the Great Storm of 1996, justice is well on its way.
On April 7 and 8, 2006, the Oregon Judicial Department and the State Family Law Advisory Committee held its 4th annual family law conference in Bend, Oregon.
Co-sponsored by the Oregon State Bar and the Juvenile Court Improvement Project, the conference was attended by judges, court administrators and family law attorneys from across the state.
These conferences are an essential part of the ongoing training and certification programs for the bench, the bar and for administrators. Aaron's Law was featured at this conference, and its 360-page resource guide is now a permanent part of the bar's continuing education program. In short, everyone in the court system is going to see this.
Workshop #6, "Encountering Family Abductions in the Legal Setting", is described in the guide as follows: "This workshop will offer information about family abductions, including international abductions and the Hague convention, prosecution of custodial interference, and statutory approaches to preventing and dealing with abduction cases including the new Aaron's Law (SB 1041, Ch 841, Oregon Laws 2005).
The panel presenting the workshop included a psychologist who testified to the devastating effects abductions have on the child victims (Aaron is proof), a Marion County judge who testified to the fact that virtually all abductors claim that they are fleeing from abuse of some sort, and two family law attorneys who are taking leadership roles in educating the bar and the public to the problem and devising solutions.
The workshop also covered cult abductions. People abduct their own children for any number of reasons, but the most common reason that people abduct other people's children (children that they know personally and exert influence over) is related to membership in some sort of religious group.
All of the people who participated in abducting the Cruz children were members of the same church group. Those people committed Class B and Class C felonies, as the workshop material clarifies.
Aaron's Law is landmark legislation, first in the nation, and many of the people working on the issue are working across state lines.
Coming to a courthouse near you, Evelyne Taylor (Hillsboro, Oregon), David Holliday (Hillsboro), Tony Micheletti (Salem), Cynthia Anderson (Rainier) will be the first application of Aaron's Law.
Since Aaron's Law applies if a minor child is "enticed, taken or kept" out of the state of Oregon, the law will reach to the states where kidnapped children are being held.
So to Chris and Kory Wright, Steve Nielson, and the rest of the Utah abduction team--justice is coming to you bastards too.
You will all have the opportunity to explain in public why you put the Cruz children at risk in that storm, and why you chose to knowingly violate the lawful joint custody order that kept my children safe and their lives orderly and secure.
If only Aaron was alive to see it.
Sean Cruz
Portland, Oregon
#2—shortly thereafter, I received this email from the Vancouver Police Department:
Mr Cruz,
My name is Steve Donahue and I’m a Police Officer with the Vancouver Washington Police Department. I had contact today with a Mr Kory Wright. Mr Wright contacted the Vancouver Police today after received an e-mail from you that was sent to his place of employment. Mr Wright told me that he feels that the e-mail you sent was threatening and possibly harassment.
I read the e-mail and did not feel there was any direct threat. However if you continue to send other e-mails to Mr Kory, that possibly could fall under RCW 9A.46.020 which is the crime of Harassment in the state of Washington. Mr Kory requested that I try to contact you and advise you that he does not want any more e-mails sent to him or any contact by you. If you would like to talk to me regarding this e-mail, you can respond or call me at 360-xxx-xxxx. This number is my work cell phone. I would be more that happy to talk to you if you have any questions.
Thank you,
Steve Donahue
Vancouver Police Department
West Precinct
Vancouver, Washington
Department Phone # 360-696-8292
#3—my reply to Officer Donahue:
Officer Donahue:
Thank you for your letter. I want to assure you that I have no intention of contacting Mr Wright or his employer beyond the email you are referring to.
There was no intent on my part to make any kind of a threat, but to state the facts as they are and as they have been since Mr. Wright and his associates kidnapped my children in 1996.
During the intervening years I have made no attempt to contact any of the kidnappers directly, have made no threats, and will not do so in the future.
If Mr. Wright believes that anything I have written or published regarding his criminal participation in the kidnapping is untrue, then he is doubtlessly aware of his legal options.
My sole intention is to tell the story of how four children disappeared on February 12, 1996 during a major storm, why their abductors made that happen, and to state the consequences of their actions, which includes the passage of Senate Bill 1041 in 2005.
SB 1041 is otherwise named "Aaron's Law" in memory of my late son.
The joint custody order that Mr. Wright violated was issued in Clark County. You will also find Kory Wright's sworn affidavit, identifying himself as a major player in the kidnapping, in the same file.
Mr. Wright's affidavit was written while my children were being concealed in Utah in locations provided or arranged by Mr. Wright.
In 1997, he appeared as a witness (along with other co-conspirators) in the 1st degree Custodial Interference case heard in Washington County. The jury was not made aware that these witnesses were criminally involved in the kidnapping, and the judge was not made aware that these witnesses made contact with jurors outside of the courtroom.
The jury subornation information was provided to me in 2001 by one of the participants.
Should you have further concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Again, I will make no further attempt to contact either Mr. Wright or his employer directly.
Sincerely,
Sean Cruz
#4—Officer Donahue’s reply:
Thank You, I consider this matter closed. S.Donahue
---------------------------------------------
More on this later, believe me, MUCH more….
Here are the links:
http://www.columbiaultimate.com/about/press/112106.aspx
http://www.columbiaultimate.com/about/kory_wright.aspx
A year after Kory Wright and his Washington County associates, David Holiday and Evelyne Taylor, had “taken, enticed and kept” my four children and concealed them in Utah, my son Aaron’s despair was so complete that at the age of 15 he was cutting both of his arms with a knife.
I didn’t see those scars until Aaron was comatose in 2005, and for five days I was at his bedside before they pronounced my son dead, plenty of time to count them and reflect on the pain and hopelessness he suffered—for years.
Kidnapped children lose their access to health care, as the desire of the kidnappers to cover their crimes and escape justice outweighs all else.
Back to the present story, in four parts:
#1—having found the bastard, I wanted him to know, and sent this email to the Columbia Ultimate website:
Kory Wright:
I found you, you bastard.
Sometimes justice never comes, sometimes it takes more than ten years.
A decade after Kory Wright and his associates kidnapped Aaron Cruz and my other three children from their homes in Oregon and sent them out on the road in the middle of the Great Storm of 1996, justice is well on its way.
On April 7 and 8, 2006, the Oregon Judicial Department and the State Family Law Advisory Committee held its 4th annual family law conference in Bend, Oregon.
Co-sponsored by the Oregon State Bar and the Juvenile Court Improvement Project, the conference was attended by judges, court administrators and family law attorneys from across the state.
These conferences are an essential part of the ongoing training and certification programs for the bench, the bar and for administrators. Aaron's Law was featured at this conference, and its 360-page resource guide is now a permanent part of the bar's continuing education program. In short, everyone in the court system is going to see this.
Workshop #6, "Encountering Family Abductions in the Legal Setting", is described in the guide as follows: "This workshop will offer information about family abductions, including international abductions and the Hague convention, prosecution of custodial interference, and statutory approaches to preventing and dealing with abduction cases including the new Aaron's Law (SB 1041, Ch 841, Oregon Laws 2005).
The panel presenting the workshop included a psychologist who testified to the devastating effects abductions have on the child victims (Aaron is proof), a Marion County judge who testified to the fact that virtually all abductors claim that they are fleeing from abuse of some sort, and two family law attorneys who are taking leadership roles in educating the bar and the public to the problem and devising solutions.
The workshop also covered cult abductions. People abduct their own children for any number of reasons, but the most common reason that people abduct other people's children (children that they know personally and exert influence over) is related to membership in some sort of religious group.
All of the people who participated in abducting the Cruz children were members of the same church group. Those people committed Class B and Class C felonies, as the workshop material clarifies.
Aaron's Law is landmark legislation, first in the nation, and many of the people working on the issue are working across state lines.
Coming to a courthouse near you, Evelyne Taylor (Hillsboro, Oregon), David Holliday (Hillsboro), Tony Micheletti (Salem), Cynthia Anderson (Rainier) will be the first application of Aaron's Law.
Since Aaron's Law applies if a minor child is "enticed, taken or kept" out of the state of Oregon, the law will reach to the states where kidnapped children are being held.
So to Chris and Kory Wright, Steve Nielson, and the rest of the Utah abduction team--justice is coming to you bastards too.
You will all have the opportunity to explain in public why you put the Cruz children at risk in that storm, and why you chose to knowingly violate the lawful joint custody order that kept my children safe and their lives orderly and secure.
If only Aaron was alive to see it.
Sean Cruz
Portland, Oregon
#2—shortly thereafter, I received this email from the Vancouver Police Department:
Mr Cruz,
My name is Steve Donahue and I’m a Police Officer with the Vancouver Washington Police Department. I had contact today with a Mr Kory Wright. Mr Wright contacted the Vancouver Police today after received an e-mail from you that was sent to his place of employment. Mr Wright told me that he feels that the e-mail you sent was threatening and possibly harassment.
I read the e-mail and did not feel there was any direct threat. However if you continue to send other e-mails to Mr Kory, that possibly could fall under RCW 9A.46.020 which is the crime of Harassment in the state of Washington. Mr Kory requested that I try to contact you and advise you that he does not want any more e-mails sent to him or any contact by you. If you would like to talk to me regarding this e-mail, you can respond or call me at 360-xxx-xxxx. This number is my work cell phone. I would be more that happy to talk to you if you have any questions.
Thank you,
Steve Donahue
Vancouver Police Department
West Precinct
Vancouver, Washington
Department Phone # 360-696-8292
#3—my reply to Officer Donahue:
Officer Donahue:
Thank you for your letter. I want to assure you that I have no intention of contacting Mr Wright or his employer beyond the email you are referring to.
There was no intent on my part to make any kind of a threat, but to state the facts as they are and as they have been since Mr. Wright and his associates kidnapped my children in 1996.
During the intervening years I have made no attempt to contact any of the kidnappers directly, have made no threats, and will not do so in the future.
If Mr. Wright believes that anything I have written or published regarding his criminal participation in the kidnapping is untrue, then he is doubtlessly aware of his legal options.
My sole intention is to tell the story of how four children disappeared on February 12, 1996 during a major storm, why their abductors made that happen, and to state the consequences of their actions, which includes the passage of Senate Bill 1041 in 2005.
SB 1041 is otherwise named "Aaron's Law" in memory of my late son.
The joint custody order that Mr. Wright violated was issued in Clark County. You will also find Kory Wright's sworn affidavit, identifying himself as a major player in the kidnapping, in the same file.
Mr. Wright's affidavit was written while my children were being concealed in Utah in locations provided or arranged by Mr. Wright.
In 1997, he appeared as a witness (along with other co-conspirators) in the 1st degree Custodial Interference case heard in Washington County. The jury was not made aware that these witnesses were criminally involved in the kidnapping, and the judge was not made aware that these witnesses made contact with jurors outside of the courtroom.
The jury subornation information was provided to me in 2001 by one of the participants.
Should you have further concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Again, I will make no further attempt to contact either Mr. Wright or his employer directly.
Sincerely,
Sean Cruz
#4—Officer Donahue’s reply:
Thank You, I consider this matter closed. S.Donahue
---------------------------------------------
More on this later, believe me, MUCH more….
Kidnapper Kory Wright found via Columbia Ultimate website
The last thing I ever expected to see displayed on my monitor was probably this:
A photograph of Kory Wright, one of the core group of kidnappers who caused my four children to disappear from their homes in Aloha and Hillsboro in Washington County on February 12, 1996.
My children had a home in Hillsboro with their mother and her third husband, and a home a bike ride away in Aloha, with me and my mother, Olive Cruz.
I was my mother’s sole caregiver at the time. She was frail, elderly and had been housebound for years.
But that was another life, other lives, in a faraway place and time.
My mother passed away four years later without seeing or hearing from her grandchildren again.
Back to the present:
A hunch, expand the search from Utah, Google….
And there it was….the face of the Devil himself, aka Beelzebub, Old Stinky, Diabolus….
Thank you, Google, and a hunch….
I never thought Kory Wright would ever want to leave Utah, much less move to the Kidnap Zone, where the crime began.
Some people think, apparently, that once the statute of limitations runs and no criminal prosecution is possible, the crime is forgotten.
But kidnappings stretch out into infinity, take my word for it….
Kory Wright arranged for the housing in Utah used to conceal my children, executing a plan that had been in the making for some months, and later committed perjury in the misdirection campaign the abduction team ran to shield themselves from criminal prosecution.
One crime begets another…and another…
This plan also required the assistance of two of Kory Wright’s associates, whose part in the crime was to help get the kids out of school and on the road: David Holiday and Evelyn Taylor, both of Washington County.
Those who were living anywhere in the Pacific Northwest on February 12, 1996 will recall that day as one of the worst ever, with roads closed and more than 500 mudslides active in the Portland area alone.
On that day, these people had had my children out of school for ten days already, bouncing them from place to place.
My last contact with my children was by phone the evening before.
I asked my son if he knew if they would be going to school in the morning and where.
He said he didn’t know.
They vanished into the storm that next morning, the storm now commemorated in Portland with the “Worst Day of the Year” bicycling event.
Three weeks later, I still had no information about my children.
But Kory Wright and his associates knew exactly where they were.
Months went by. My children’s former schools in the Hillsboro School District received no requests for records from anywhere.
Later, I received a copy of Kory Wright’s sworn affidavit, dated March 2, 1996, (written at a time when I had no information about my children's whereabouts or condition) which states in part:
“I, Kory Wright declare under penalty of perjury of the laws of the State of Utah that the following statements are true and correct….
“In the short period they have lived here the children have increased their circle of friends, been involved in numerous activities and made a home for themselves. The schools they children attend are among the best in the state of Utah…. Clearly, the move here has been a tremendous benefit to both Gina and her children.
“If Shaun (sic) is truly seeking that which is best for his children, then let them live where they are the happiest. The economic boom in Utah would afford Shaun (sic) ample opportunity to provide for him as well as his support obligations. Since he currently has no employment restrictions keeping him in the Northwest, a relocation would not be difficult for him.”
That last paragraph has always had me wondering. I was fired from my job at Vic Alfonso Cadillac two weeks after my children disappeared, a week before Kory Wright wrote this statement.
….And at that moment, 800 miles away, in the mountains east of Ogden, Kory Wright contemplates my employment opportunities in Utah, extends an invitation to relocate via the Clark County Courthouse.
He offered no indication of what the group of kidnappers thought I should do with my invalid mother, other than to swear under oath that "...a relocation would not be difficult for him."
My employer was very explicit about the reason for terminating me: I didn’t have my mind on my job.
No doubt about that point; no argument at all. My mind was on nothing but my missing children and how to care for my mother. My job was definitely not in the top two.
I had told my supervisor, Gil Fuchs, about the disappearance of my children the day it happened.
He said, “Are they with their mother?
I said, “I don’t know. She’s missing, too.”
He told me not to worry about it, that they would be fine.
As a parent, you know with absolute certainty that your children are not “fine.”
You try to get through the grief, the shock, the unbearable pain….
Ten days later, Gil walked into my office and said, “You’re out of here.”
That was it. Someone came over to watch me clean out my desk, make sure I didn’t pocket a stapler on my way to the bus line.
Meanwhile, all of my children’s mail was secretly being forwarded to Evelyn Taylor in Washington County, mere blocks away from the abduction site, instead of wherever they were holding my children.
They tried to think of everything. Months of planning, secret meetings, budgeting, lying, coercing….
In legal terms: taking, enticing, keeping....
Here’s what Oregon law has to say about kidnapping, as should have been applied to every participant in the series of crimes:
163.245 Custodial interference in the second degree. (1) A person commits the crime of custodial interference in the second degree if, knowing or having reason to know that the person has no legal right to do so, the person takes, entices or keeps another person from the other person’s lawful custodian or in violation of a valid joint custody order with intent to hold the other person permanently or for a protracted period.
(2) Expenses incurred by a lawful custodial parent or a parent enforcing a valid joint custody order in locating and regaining physical custody of the person taken, enticed or kept in violation of this section are “economic damages” for purposes of restitution under ORS 137.103 to 137.109.
(3) Custodial interference in the second degree is a Class C felony.
163.257 Custodial interference in the first degree. (1) A person commits the crime of custodial interference in the first degree if the person violates ORS 163.245 and:
(a) Causes the person taken, enticed or kept from the lawful custodian or in violation of a valid joint custody order to be removed from the state; or
(b) Exposes that person to a substantial risk of illness or physical injury.
(2) Expenses incurred by a lawful custodial parent or a parent enforcing a valid joint custody order in locating and regaining physical custody of the person taken, enticed or kept in violation of this section are “economic damages” for purposes of restitution under ORS 137.103 to 137.109.
(3) Custodial interference in the first degree is a Class B felony.
It boils down to this:
[] Take, entice or keep a child in violation of a valid joint custody order: Class “C” felony.
[] Take the child out of the state of Oregon OR expose that child to a substantial risk of illness of physical injury: Class “B” felony.
Guilty on both counts, guilty as Sin itself. All of them, Kory Wright, Evelyn Taylor, David Holiday....
But no law enforcement agency could be motivated to investigate the Cruz abduction, and while these criminals drained the innocence and childhood out of my four children to the last drop, the statutes of limitations expired on the crimes.
To this day, I have no information as to how long Kory Wright and his associates kept my children out of school or the route they took in removing my children from the state.
I do know that my children never recovered academically from the abduction, that they were denied access to competent health care while they were on the run in Utah, and I learned earlier this year (2007) that both of my sons dropped out of high school five years after arriving in Utah.
Kory Wright identifies himself in the affidavit as functioning in the capacity of a counselor or mediator, using both words to suggest to the Court some form of professional capacity or relationship.
But according to the Columbia Ultimate website, the company’s mainstay is “collecting money.”
And it looks to me that Kory Wright’s job at the time the abduction of the Cruz children began had more to do with scraping chewing gum from the undersides of movie theater seats in a highly economical and successful fashion than anything remotely resembling counseling or mediation.
But you be the judge. Here’s the link:
http://www.columbiaultimate.com/about/press/112106.aspx
More on this later.
Count on it.
A photograph of Kory Wright, one of the core group of kidnappers who caused my four children to disappear from their homes in Aloha and Hillsboro in Washington County on February 12, 1996.
My children had a home in Hillsboro with their mother and her third husband, and a home a bike ride away in Aloha, with me and my mother, Olive Cruz.
I was my mother’s sole caregiver at the time. She was frail, elderly and had been housebound for years.
But that was another life, other lives, in a faraway place and time.
My mother passed away four years later without seeing or hearing from her grandchildren again.
Back to the present:
A hunch, expand the search from Utah, Google….
And there it was….the face of the Devil himself, aka Beelzebub, Old Stinky, Diabolus….
Thank you, Google, and a hunch….
I never thought Kory Wright would ever want to leave Utah, much less move to the Kidnap Zone, where the crime began.
Some people think, apparently, that once the statute of limitations runs and no criminal prosecution is possible, the crime is forgotten.
But kidnappings stretch out into infinity, take my word for it….
Kory Wright arranged for the housing in Utah used to conceal my children, executing a plan that had been in the making for some months, and later committed perjury in the misdirection campaign the abduction team ran to shield themselves from criminal prosecution.
One crime begets another…and another…
This plan also required the assistance of two of Kory Wright’s associates, whose part in the crime was to help get the kids out of school and on the road: David Holiday and Evelyn Taylor, both of Washington County.
Those who were living anywhere in the Pacific Northwest on February 12, 1996 will recall that day as one of the worst ever, with roads closed and more than 500 mudslides active in the Portland area alone.
On that day, these people had had my children out of school for ten days already, bouncing them from place to place.
My last contact with my children was by phone the evening before.
I asked my son if he knew if they would be going to school in the morning and where.
He said he didn’t know.
They vanished into the storm that next morning, the storm now commemorated in Portland with the “Worst Day of the Year” bicycling event.
Three weeks later, I still had no information about my children.
But Kory Wright and his associates knew exactly where they were.
Months went by. My children’s former schools in the Hillsboro School District received no requests for records from anywhere.
Later, I received a copy of Kory Wright’s sworn affidavit, dated March 2, 1996, (written at a time when I had no information about my children's whereabouts or condition) which states in part:
“I, Kory Wright declare under penalty of perjury of the laws of the State of Utah that the following statements are true and correct….
“In the short period they have lived here the children have increased their circle of friends, been involved in numerous activities and made a home for themselves. The schools they children attend are among the best in the state of Utah…. Clearly, the move here has been a tremendous benefit to both Gina and her children.
“If Shaun (sic) is truly seeking that which is best for his children, then let them live where they are the happiest. The economic boom in Utah would afford Shaun (sic) ample opportunity to provide for him as well as his support obligations. Since he currently has no employment restrictions keeping him in the Northwest, a relocation would not be difficult for him.”
That last paragraph has always had me wondering. I was fired from my job at Vic Alfonso Cadillac two weeks after my children disappeared, a week before Kory Wright wrote this statement.
….And at that moment, 800 miles away, in the mountains east of Ogden, Kory Wright contemplates my employment opportunities in Utah, extends an invitation to relocate via the Clark County Courthouse.
He offered no indication of what the group of kidnappers thought I should do with my invalid mother, other than to swear under oath that "...a relocation would not be difficult for him."
My employer was very explicit about the reason for terminating me: I didn’t have my mind on my job.
No doubt about that point; no argument at all. My mind was on nothing but my missing children and how to care for my mother. My job was definitely not in the top two.
I had told my supervisor, Gil Fuchs, about the disappearance of my children the day it happened.
He said, “Are they with their mother?
I said, “I don’t know. She’s missing, too.”
He told me not to worry about it, that they would be fine.
As a parent, you know with absolute certainty that your children are not “fine.”
You try to get through the grief, the shock, the unbearable pain….
Ten days later, Gil walked into my office and said, “You’re out of here.”
That was it. Someone came over to watch me clean out my desk, make sure I didn’t pocket a stapler on my way to the bus line.
Meanwhile, all of my children’s mail was secretly being forwarded to Evelyn Taylor in Washington County, mere blocks away from the abduction site, instead of wherever they were holding my children.
They tried to think of everything. Months of planning, secret meetings, budgeting, lying, coercing….
In legal terms: taking, enticing, keeping....
Here’s what Oregon law has to say about kidnapping, as should have been applied to every participant in the series of crimes:
163.245 Custodial interference in the second degree. (1) A person commits the crime of custodial interference in the second degree if, knowing or having reason to know that the person has no legal right to do so, the person takes, entices or keeps another person from the other person’s lawful custodian or in violation of a valid joint custody order with intent to hold the other person permanently or for a protracted period.
(2) Expenses incurred by a lawful custodial parent or a parent enforcing a valid joint custody order in locating and regaining physical custody of the person taken, enticed or kept in violation of this section are “economic damages” for purposes of restitution under ORS 137.103 to 137.109.
(3) Custodial interference in the second degree is a Class C felony.
163.257 Custodial interference in the first degree. (1) A person commits the crime of custodial interference in the first degree if the person violates ORS 163.245 and:
(a) Causes the person taken, enticed or kept from the lawful custodian or in violation of a valid joint custody order to be removed from the state; or
(b) Exposes that person to a substantial risk of illness or physical injury.
(2) Expenses incurred by a lawful custodial parent or a parent enforcing a valid joint custody order in locating and regaining physical custody of the person taken, enticed or kept in violation of this section are “economic damages” for purposes of restitution under ORS 137.103 to 137.109.
(3) Custodial interference in the first degree is a Class B felony.
It boils down to this:
[] Take, entice or keep a child in violation of a valid joint custody order: Class “C” felony.
[] Take the child out of the state of Oregon OR expose that child to a substantial risk of illness of physical injury: Class “B” felony.
Guilty on both counts, guilty as Sin itself. All of them, Kory Wright, Evelyn Taylor, David Holiday....
But no law enforcement agency could be motivated to investigate the Cruz abduction, and while these criminals drained the innocence and childhood out of my four children to the last drop, the statutes of limitations expired on the crimes.
To this day, I have no information as to how long Kory Wright and his associates kept my children out of school or the route they took in removing my children from the state.
I do know that my children never recovered academically from the abduction, that they were denied access to competent health care while they were on the run in Utah, and I learned earlier this year (2007) that both of my sons dropped out of high school five years after arriving in Utah.
Kory Wright identifies himself in the affidavit as functioning in the capacity of a counselor or mediator, using both words to suggest to the Court some form of professional capacity or relationship.
But according to the Columbia Ultimate website, the company’s mainstay is “collecting money.”
And it looks to me that Kory Wright’s job at the time the abduction of the Cruz children began had more to do with scraping chewing gum from the undersides of movie theater seats in a highly economical and successful fashion than anything remotely resembling counseling or mediation.
But you be the judge. Here’s the link:
http://www.columbiaultimate.com/about/press/112106.aspx
Count on it.
Cruz children kidnapper Kory Wright located in Vancouver
Portland--Years, long years after the statutes of limitations have expired on the crimes Kory Wright, Evelyn Taylor, David Holiday and others committed in the course of kidnapping my four children from Oregon and hiding them in Utah, a simple Google search has turned up one of the kidnappers.
Nearly 13 years later, the Cruz family remains shattered and my son Aaron is dead.
The kidnapper’s name is Kory Wright. He is employed at Columbia Ultimate, according to the company website, right across the river in Vancouver.
Kory Wright committed a Class “B” felony under Oregon law when he and his wife Chris participated materially in the abduction, violating a valid joint custody order.
Later, he committed perjury along with the others.
Their motive in the beginning was a good, old-fashioned shunning, but once they started the scheme in motion, once they crossed that line into felonyville, they had both their criminal behinds and their reputations to protect, and my children to use as weapons.
"When you set in motion a chain of events, a perpetrator of a crime is responsible for every single thing that follows from that chain of events no matter how distant." (said a Philadelphia District Attorney in a recent case where a police officer died from his wounds 40 years after they were inflicted, and now its a murder case)
No statute of limitations on murder cases.
But in Oregon the statute of limitations for child abduction, in cases where one or more of the abductors are known to the child victims, expires three years after the crime first occured.
This is the law even if the kidnappers keep the children longer than three years. All they have to do is make it through the first three years without getting caught.
Even if the police never bother to follow up and investigate the crime, after three years the kidnappers are home free.
A kidnapping is not like a holdup. A kidnapping runs 24-7, and it runs forever.
Kory Wright made the Utah arrangements. He was in charge of where my children were taken to.
Evelyn Taylor and David Holliday used their postions through their church offices and through their church seminary program in the Hillsboro School District to influence my children directly.
And they definitely knew about the joint custody order.
They played their roles in the taking of my children from the state.
I later learned that all of the children's mail was forwarded from their former home in Hillsboro to Evelyn Taylor, and not to where they were holding the children in Utah.
My children disappeared on February 12, 1996. Aaron's birthday was March 21. I had no firm information where my children were, who had them, or where they might be headed next, not even an address to mail my son a birthday card.
I mailed Aaron a card to his last known Hillsboro address, but the card went to Evelyn Taylor instead.
Class "B" felonies.
More on this later.
In my next post on this issue, thanks to scan technology and the internet, I will post Kory Wright’s sworn affidavit along with some explanation for the benefit of the reader.
This is what he looks like now, according to the Columbia Ultimate website:
http://www.columbiaultimate.com/about/kory_wright.aspx
Kory Wright Vice President of Associate Excellence
As vice president of associate excellence, Kory oversees recruitment and human resources as well as internal training and learning initiatives for the company. He also served as a new business development manager in early 2006.
Bringing over 20 years of sales management and operations experience, Kory was previously the chief operations officer for Simply Right, a movie theater cleaning business in which he was responsible for revenue and expenses for a $6 million business with operations in eight states with over 300 sub-contractors. He has served as president for Wright Angle Ventures, Inc., and Healthware, Inc. He also served as a consultant for The Intelitech Group and was previously with Columbia Ultimate in the mid-1980’s spearheading sales.
Kory has a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from Brigham Young University.
Nearly 13 years later, the Cruz family remains shattered and my son Aaron is dead.
The kidnapper’s name is Kory Wright. He is employed at Columbia Ultimate, according to the company website, right across the river in Vancouver.
Kory Wright committed a Class “B” felony under Oregon law when he and his wife Chris participated materially in the abduction, violating a valid joint custody order.
Later, he committed perjury along with the others.
Their motive in the beginning was a good, old-fashioned shunning, but once they started the scheme in motion, once they crossed that line into felonyville, they had both their criminal behinds and their reputations to protect, and my children to use as weapons.
"When you set in motion a chain of events, a perpetrator of a crime is responsible for every single thing that follows from that chain of events no matter how distant." (said a Philadelphia District Attorney in a recent case where a police officer died from his wounds 40 years after they were inflicted, and now its a murder case)
No statute of limitations on murder cases.
But in Oregon the statute of limitations for child abduction, in cases where one or more of the abductors are known to the child victims, expires three years after the crime first occured.
This is the law even if the kidnappers keep the children longer than three years. All they have to do is make it through the first three years without getting caught.
Even if the police never bother to follow up and investigate the crime, after three years the kidnappers are home free.
A kidnapping is not like a holdup. A kidnapping runs 24-7, and it runs forever.
Kory Wright made the Utah arrangements. He was in charge of where my children were taken to.
Evelyn Taylor and David Holliday used their postions through their church offices and through their church seminary program in the Hillsboro School District to influence my children directly.
And they definitely knew about the joint custody order.
They played their roles in the taking of my children from the state.
I later learned that all of the children's mail was forwarded from their former home in Hillsboro to Evelyn Taylor, and not to where they were holding the children in Utah.
My children disappeared on February 12, 1996. Aaron's birthday was March 21. I had no firm information where my children were, who had them, or where they might be headed next, not even an address to mail my son a birthday card.
I mailed Aaron a card to his last known Hillsboro address, but the card went to Evelyn Taylor instead.
Class "B" felonies.
In my next post on this issue, thanks to scan technology and the internet, I will post Kory Wright’s sworn affidavit along with some explanation for the benefit of the reader.
This is what he looks like now, according to the Columbia Ultimate website:
http://www.columbiaultimate.com/about/kory_wright.aspx
Kory Wright Vice President of Associate Excellence
As vice president of associate excellence, Kory oversees recruitment and human resources as well as internal training and learning initiatives for the company. He also served as a new business development manager in early 2006.
Bringing over 20 years of sales management and operations experience, Kory was previously the chief operations officer for Simply Right, a movie theater cleaning business in which he was responsible for revenue and expenses for a $6 million business with operations in eight states with over 300 sub-contractors. He has served as president for Wright Angle Ventures, Inc., and Healthware, Inc. He also served as a consultant for The Intelitech Group and was previously with Columbia Ultimate in the mid-1980’s spearheading sales.
Kory has a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from Brigham Young University.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
A warning regarding child abduction
Child abduction is far more common than one would think. Only a small fraction of abductions make the news or receive an Amber Alert.
But those postcards from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children keep coming in the mail. Those are real people, real children and real parents who years later are still looking, still hoping, still praying for the return of their child. Looking right now, looking for years.
Children are particularly at risk during the first five years following a divorce proceeding.
The following information is available on the Utah Department of Public Safety website at www.utah.gov/main/index
The policy is clear and correct, but in real life, if your child is taken to Utah , you are on your own.
PARENTAL ABDUCTION
Each year hundreds of children fall victim to family abductions.
Many believe these children are perfectly safe because they are with a family member; however, nothing could be farther from the truth.
It is common for the child victims to have their names and appearance altered, to experience medical and physical neglect, unstable schooling, homelessness, and frequent relocations.
These children are often told lies about the abduction and the left-behind parent; even that the left-behind parent is dead. Most of these children live as fugitives: taught not to trust anyone, told to keep secrets about their past; unable to establish relationships with friends; and always on the run from the law.
As a result of this form of serious child abuse, many child victims of family abductions experience psychological consequences and emotional distress.
Children involved in family abductions are usually taken by the non-custodial parent as an act of revenge against the ex-spouse/custodial parent.
Empower Your Children
Help your children help themselves. Be as honest as you can about the potential abduction.
Custodial parents should inform their children to never go on a trip without them.
Let your children know they should ask law enforcement for help if they are in an airport or traveling without your permission.
When instructing your children about how to use the telephone, make sure they know how to make long-distance and international calls. Teach them to dial “0” for an operator or “911” in an emergency.
Additional resources can be found at www.missingkids.com.
Taking these important steps may help prevent the abduction of your child. Children are particularly at risk during the first five years following a divorce proceeding.
Obtain legal custody of your child.
Specify in the custody order exact times and locations for visitation.
Ask for special prevention provisions.
Consider counseling or mediation to work toward resolving problems.
Always keep current information of your child on file.
Notify schools, daycare centers, and babysitters of custody orders.
Keep current names and addresses of relatives or friends that the potential abducting parent might travel to.
Keep on file certified copies of your custody order
If you have custody papers from a state other then Utah, you MUST file them with the Utah State Courts.
If Your Child is Abducted
File a missing person report with your local police and request an investigation.
Request your child be entered into the FBI's National Crime Information Center computer. (NCIC)
If you suspect the child has been taken out of the country, call the U.S. Department of State.
Contact the state Missing Children's Clearinghouse.
Contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST.
Consider asking the police or prosecutor to file criminal charges against the abductor.
But those postcards from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children keep coming in the mail. Those are real people, real children and real parents who years later are still looking, still hoping, still praying for the return of their child. Looking right now, looking for years.
Children are particularly at risk during the first five years following a divorce proceeding.
The following information is available on the Utah Department of Public Safety website at www.utah.gov/main/index
The policy is clear and correct, but in real life, if your child is taken to Utah , you are on your own.
PARENTAL ABDUCTION
Each year hundreds of children fall victim to family abductions.
Many believe these children are perfectly safe because they are with a family member; however, nothing could be farther from the truth.
It is common for the child victims to have their names and appearance altered, to experience medical and physical neglect, unstable schooling, homelessness, and frequent relocations.
These children are often told lies about the abduction and the left-behind parent; even that the left-behind parent is dead. Most of these children live as fugitives: taught not to trust anyone, told to keep secrets about their past; unable to establish relationships with friends; and always on the run from the law.
As a result of this form of serious child abuse, many child victims of family abductions experience psychological consequences and emotional distress.
Children involved in family abductions are usually taken by the non-custodial parent as an act of revenge against the ex-spouse/custodial parent.
Empower Your Children
Help your children help themselves. Be as honest as you can about the potential abduction.
Custodial parents should inform their children to never go on a trip without them.
Let your children know they should ask law enforcement for help if they are in an airport or traveling without your permission.
When instructing your children about how to use the telephone, make sure they know how to make long-distance and international calls. Teach them to dial “0” for an operator or “911” in an emergency.
Additional resources can be found at www.missingkids.com.
Taking these important steps may help prevent the abduction of your child. Children are particularly at risk during the first five years following a divorce proceeding.
Obtain legal custody of your child.
Specify in the custody order exact times and locations for visitation.
Ask for special prevention provisions.
Consider counseling or mediation to work toward resolving problems.
Always keep current information of your child on file.
Notify schools, daycare centers, and babysitters of custody orders.
Keep current names and addresses of relatives or friends that the potential abducting parent might travel to.
Keep on file certified copies of your custody order
If you have custody papers from a state other then Utah, you MUST file them with the Utah State Courts.
If Your Child is Abducted
File a missing person report with your local police and request an investigation.
Request your child be entered into the FBI's National Crime Information Center computer. (NCIC)
If you suspect the child has been taken out of the country, call the U.S. Department of State.
Contact the state Missing Children's Clearinghouse.
Contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST.
Consider asking the police or prosecutor to file criminal charges against the abductor.
Say Yes for Kids
My children disappeared on February 12, 1996 while the entire Northwest was in the grip of a major storm.
Six months later, The Oregonian published an editorial titled “Say Yes for Kids”, that noted the abduction of the Cruz children.
The Oregonian described the findings of the Oregon Task Force on Family Law in the same editorial and stated that “the recommendations ought to be atop the Legislature’s urgent priority list next January (the 1997 session).”
The 1997 Legislature passed the recommendations, but the Task Force on Family Law’s work was directed at reducing Oregon’s divorce rate, and did not address the issue of kidnappings.
At the conclusion of the 2003 session, Senate President Peter Courtney appointed the Task Force on Parental and Family Abductions, which held hearings and reported its findings to the 2005 legislature.
Senate Bill 1041 (Aaron’s Law) passed the 2005 legislature in dramatic fashion, clearing the House on a unanimous vote in the final days of the session.
Today is National Missing Children Awareness Day
Governor Kulongoski Proclaims Missing Children Awareness Day in Oregon
Proclamation - Missing Children's Awareness Day 2007
Office of the Governor
State of Oregon
WHEREAS: May 25th has annually been declared "National Missing Children's Day" and
WHEREAS: there are more than 2,000 children reported missing every day; and
WHEREAS: more than 58,000 children are abducted by non-family members each year and
WHEREAS: Children represent our state's most valuable resource and greater public awareness can play a significant role in helping to reduce the number of missing children:
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Theodore R. Kulongoski, Governor of the State of Oregon, do hereby proclaim May 25, 2007, as
MISSING CHILDREN'S AWARENESS DAY
in Oregon in recognition of every child's right to care and protection and join with others across the country in support of National Missing Children's Day. We must all strive to provide our children and the future of our state and nation, a healthy and happy living environment.
End Proclamation
Important facts about abducted children:
[] 797,500 children (younger than 18) were reported missing in a one-year period of time studied, resulting in an average of 2,185 children being reported missing each day.
[] 203,900 children were the victims of family abductions.
[] 58,200 children were the victims of non-family abductions.
[] 115 children were the victims of "stereotypical" kidnapping. (These crimes involve someone the child does not know or someone of slight acquaintance, who holds the child overnight, transports the child 50 miles or more, kills the child, demands ransom, or intends to keep the child permanently.
Source: National Center for Missing and Exploited Children web site, a 2002 U.S. Department of Justice report.
Proclamation - Missing Children's Awareness Day 2007
Office of the Governor
State of Oregon
WHEREAS: May 25th has annually been declared "National Missing Children's Day" and
WHEREAS: there are more than 2,000 children reported missing every day; and
WHEREAS: more than 58,000 children are abducted by non-family members each year and
WHEREAS: Children represent our state's most valuable resource and greater public awareness can play a significant role in helping to reduce the number of missing children:
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Theodore R. Kulongoski, Governor of the State of Oregon, do hereby proclaim May 25, 2007, as
MISSING CHILDREN'S AWARENESS DAY
in Oregon in recognition of every child's right to care and protection and join with others across the country in support of National Missing Children's Day. We must all strive to provide our children and the future of our state and nation, a healthy and happy living environment.
End Proclamation
Important facts about abducted children:
[] 797,500 children (younger than 18) were reported missing in a one-year period of time studied, resulting in an average of 2,185 children being reported missing each day.
[] 203,900 children were the victims of family abductions.
[] 58,200 children were the victims of non-family abductions.
[] 115 children were the victims of "stereotypical" kidnapping. (These crimes involve someone the child does not know or someone of slight acquaintance, who holds the child overnight, transports the child 50 miles or more, kills the child, demands ransom, or intends to keep the child permanently.
Source: National Center for Missing and Exploited Children web site, a 2002 U.S. Department of Justice report.
The United States of America honors the memory of Aaron A. Cruz
Several of the members of Aaron's Army National Guard Battalion spoke at his memorial service. They said that my son was an honorable man, respected by his comrades and superiors alike. They spoke of his love for the Guard and his dedication to his unit, and they all understood that Aaron had consciously and purposefully placed his loyalty above his own health, and had paid the price with his life.
In Memory of Aaron Cruz (March 21, 1982 to April 25, 2005)
My son Aaron died in Utah of medical neglect while under Army orders.
He apparently received no medical care for his seizure disorder after he left our home in Portland, under deployment orders for Iraq, to report to his Utah Army National Guard unit.
Two years after his death, the Department of Defense has still not complied with my request for my son's medical records, citing a "large backlog of requests."
Principles of Aaron's Law (2005 Oregon Child Abduction Law)
Aaron’s Law is premised on the finding by the 2003 Oregon Senate President’s Interim Task Force on Parental and Family Abductions that child abduction is highly abusive to the child, and that this abuse occurs regardless of who abducts the child: “(Child abduction)…is extremely detrimental to the emotional and mental well being of the children, and at times may even put the life of the child in danger.”
Victims of child abduction by family members who appeared before the Task Force and who appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee testified unanimously that the injuries caused by abduction were in fact severe and permanent.
Stated simply, child abduction—by any person—is child abuse.
Aaron’s Law (Senate Bill 1041 [2005]) seeks to address the problem in several ways:
1. By empowering the Court to appoint a Guardian ad Litem and a qualified mental health therapist to represent the interests of the child at the very outset of the case.
2. By requiring the parties to the case to attend counseling directed at informing the parties of the harm their conduct is inflicting on the children.
3. By encouraging the professional development of the bar, the courts and others through training and the dissemination of information regarding the issue of child abduction, particularly those abductions in which family members participate.
4. By authorizing the Court to award damages to the parties suffering harm.
5. By extending the statute of limitations and placing the statute in the context of the crime. Abduction is a continuing crime, not an event that occurred on a single day.
6. By providing to victims an avenue that is separate from the criminal system. In most cases, incarcerating a parent adds to the ongoing trauma suffered by the child victims.
7. By providing a means to fast-track an abduction case, shortening the time that a child is abducted.
Aaron’s Law has been in effect since October 2005, and we recognize several areas where the law could be amended and improved.
We also recognize that many participants in the system, including law enforcement, the courts and the bar, have not yet reached a level of awareness regarding child abduction where family members are involved that either affords the opportunity for Aaron’s Law to work effectively or that adequately addresses the suffering of the child victims.
A key problem with current law lies in determining when an abduction reaches the point where ORS Custodial Interference statutes apply. ORS requires an act “with intent to hold the other person (the victim) permanently or for a protracted period.”
There is no agreement on what “protracted” means. In a recent case handled by the Portland Police Bureau, the detective in charge was unsure that the definition of “protracted” had been reached although the children had been missing (along with their non-custodial mother) for nearly eight months.
Also, while Aaron’s Law authorizes the court to appoint legal and mental health advocates for the child victims, there is at present no cadre of such professionals who are knowledgeable about and/or experienced in the recovery of child abduction victims.
Amendments currently being drafted:
1. Define “protracted” for purposes of Aaron’s Law (SB1041) as 72 hours from the time the child or children have been reported missing to law enforcement.
2. Authorizes agency (Commission on Children and Families) to apply for grants for the purposes of training and deploying certain guardians ad litem and child mental health professionals as child recovery teams.
3. Directs the Court to select guardians ad litem and mental health professionals from this cadre.
Related Issues:
1. Local law enforcement agencies do not routinely or effectively provide reports of child abduction involving family members to the OSP Missing Children’s Clearinghouse. This needs to change.
Victims of child abduction by family members who appeared before the Task Force and who appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee testified unanimously that the injuries caused by abduction were in fact severe and permanent.
Stated simply, child abduction—by any person—is child abuse.
Aaron’s Law (Senate Bill 1041 [2005]) seeks to address the problem in several ways:
1. By empowering the Court to appoint a Guardian ad Litem and a qualified mental health therapist to represent the interests of the child at the very outset of the case.
2. By requiring the parties to the case to attend counseling directed at informing the parties of the harm their conduct is inflicting on the children.
3. By encouraging the professional development of the bar, the courts and others through training and the dissemination of information regarding the issue of child abduction, particularly those abductions in which family members participate.
4. By authorizing the Court to award damages to the parties suffering harm.
5. By extending the statute of limitations and placing the statute in the context of the crime. Abduction is a continuing crime, not an event that occurred on a single day.
6. By providing to victims an avenue that is separate from the criminal system. In most cases, incarcerating a parent adds to the ongoing trauma suffered by the child victims.
7. By providing a means to fast-track an abduction case, shortening the time that a child is abducted.
Aaron’s Law has been in effect since October 2005, and we recognize several areas where the law could be amended and improved.
We also recognize that many participants in the system, including law enforcement, the courts and the bar, have not yet reached a level of awareness regarding child abduction where family members are involved that either affords the opportunity for Aaron’s Law to work effectively or that adequately addresses the suffering of the child victims.
A key problem with current law lies in determining when an abduction reaches the point where ORS Custodial Interference statutes apply. ORS requires an act “with intent to hold the other person (the victim) permanently or for a protracted period.”
There is no agreement on what “protracted” means. In a recent case handled by the Portland Police Bureau, the detective in charge was unsure that the definition of “protracted” had been reached although the children had been missing (along with their non-custodial mother) for nearly eight months.
Also, while Aaron’s Law authorizes the court to appoint legal and mental health advocates for the child victims, there is at present no cadre of such professionals who are knowledgeable about and/or experienced in the recovery of child abduction victims.
Amendments currently being drafted:
1. Define “protracted” for purposes of Aaron’s Law (SB1041) as 72 hours from the time the child or children have been reported missing to law enforcement.
2. Authorizes agency (Commission on Children and Families) to apply for grants for the purposes of training and deploying certain guardians ad litem and child mental health professionals as child recovery teams.
3. Directs the Court to select guardians ad litem and mental health professionals from this cadre.
Related Issues:
1. Local law enforcement agencies do not routinely or effectively provide reports of child abduction involving family members to the OSP Missing Children’s Clearinghouse. This needs to change.
Kidnapped Children Lose Educational Opportunities
In a recent post, I wrote about the terrible news I had just received, and here it is:
Last week, I learned that both of my sons dropped out of their Utah high school more than five years ago, that they both left school with academic GPAs of 0.00, and I am still reeling from the shock.
The people who kidnapped the Cruz children from Oregon and hid them in Utah, a group that included Mormon officials in three states, repeatedly represented to the courts that my children were receiving excellent educational opportunities while under their control and supervision. They were lying.
The multiple law firms they hired to deny me access to my children and to any information about my children all represented to the courts (four jurisdictions in three states) that the Cruz children were doing fine in Utah in all respects. The lawyers were insistent that the best place for my children was in their Utah schools. They were lying, too, as they were paid to do.
The five Guardians ad Litem appointed to the Cruz case (1 in SW Washington, 4 in Utah) had no problems and no concerns whatsoever regarding my children’s schooling in Utah. Their attention was focused on assuring the Court(s) that as long as the Cruz children were kept isolated in their Utah enclaves, the situation would be preferable to allowing them contact with anyone outside of those enclaves.
Working together, the church officials, the lawyers, and the people in their circles of influence, denied the Cruz children, year after year, school term after school term , an opportunity to achieve at minimum a high school education.
My children were raised in my home to be computer literate since 1988. After the divorce in 1991, I bought them computers for their own use in their mother’s home to maintain their literacy. My youngest child was literate from the age of four.
Yet, the Payson High school transcripts show that they all failed all of their computer classes, all three children.
The kidnappers denied my children access to computers, to email, to contact outside of the enclave, and that fact is reflected in my children’s grades.
Computers are essential to academic and career success, but they are also communication devices, and you can guess the rest of that story….
My children were taught in Utah to be hostile to computer technology, an attitude that would severely limit their educational and career options, a complete reversal of the head start I had been providing my children since 1988.
I learned on January 8, the first day of the 2007 legislative session, that my son Aaron’s 1997-1998 Payson High School report included 5 F’s and a D-, that his final year in school was 1999-2000, and those grades were all F’s.
On January 10, I learned that my son Tyler had also dropped out of his Utah high school at some point in the 1999-2000 school year, that his grades were all F’s.
Before they were taken to Utah, all four of my children were smart and adventurous. They were highly social and all on a college track.
Their kidnappers swore my children were doing fine in school, and that all was wholesome and healthy in their lives.
But the transcripts reveal how desperately unhappy my children were, and that that unhappiness endured year after year during the entire time they were concealed in Utah. The transcripts also reveal that my children received no help from the professionals charged with their wellbeing.
There was no one for my children to turn to, no one to help them with their schoolwork, no one to give them hope. Just a phalanx of lawyers and the church officials who swore the Cruz children were fine.
And—in Aaron’s case—they saw that he received a bottomless supply of psychoactive medication from the age of 15. He never had a chance.
In 2003, I went to court in Utah to ask the judge for my children’s school, medical and employment records, and for a list of their former addresses in Utah.
It was actually hard to find a judge to hear the case. The judge who the case was originally assigned to had been one of those lawyers shielding the courts from the truth.
I learned this fact about the judge moments before the case was to be heard. He greeted my children’s kidnapper warmly and personally from the bench, announced his conflict of interest, and then they had a mad scramble to find a neutral judge in this one-horse town, where they all belong to the same church.
This judge had direct knowledge of the physical and emotional abuse my children were suffering during the years of their mother’s marriage to Steve Nielson, because he was one of the divorce lawyers representing their mother, and he interviewed my children and took their affidavits alleging the abuse.
This judge had to have known about the school records, about the facts of the abduction, and all the other information that was sitting in his own damned files.
After a few hours, they found a judge who could pretend to be impartial, and he ruled that he wanted to take some time to think about the request for records, and there it lies today. I left Utah empty handed—again.
That is how the system works out there, in the state that leads the nation in child molestation.
The transcripts explain why they have fought so hard to maintain secrecy over the past eleven years.
In order to gain access to my son’s high school records, all I had to do was present a copy of his death certificate. In other words, Aaron had to die first.
Aaron died, in fact, just down the street from Payson High School.
The irrepressibly happy part of Aaron died a long time ago, the part that saw a bright future was snuffed out in Utah.
It’s right here in black and white. Academic GPA: 0.00
More on this later, to be sure.
Last week, I learned that both of my sons dropped out of their Utah high school more than five years ago, that they both left school with academic GPAs of 0.00, and I am still reeling from the shock.
The people who kidnapped the Cruz children from Oregon and hid them in Utah, a group that included Mormon officials in three states, repeatedly represented to the courts that my children were receiving excellent educational opportunities while under their control and supervision. They were lying.
The multiple law firms they hired to deny me access to my children and to any information about my children all represented to the courts (four jurisdictions in three states) that the Cruz children were doing fine in Utah in all respects. The lawyers were insistent that the best place for my children was in their Utah schools. They were lying, too, as they were paid to do.
The five Guardians ad Litem appointed to the Cruz case (1 in SW Washington, 4 in Utah) had no problems and no concerns whatsoever regarding my children’s schooling in Utah. Their attention was focused on assuring the Court(s) that as long as the Cruz children were kept isolated in their Utah enclaves, the situation would be preferable to allowing them contact with anyone outside of those enclaves.
Working together, the church officials, the lawyers, and the people in their circles of influence, denied the Cruz children, year after year, school term after school term , an opportunity to achieve at minimum a high school education.
My children were raised in my home to be computer literate since 1988. After the divorce in 1991, I bought them computers for their own use in their mother’s home to maintain their literacy. My youngest child was literate from the age of four.
Yet, the Payson High school transcripts show that they all failed all of their computer classes, all three children.
The kidnappers denied my children access to computers, to email, to contact outside of the enclave, and that fact is reflected in my children’s grades.
Computers are essential to academic and career success, but they are also communication devices, and you can guess the rest of that story….
My children were taught in Utah to be hostile to computer technology, an attitude that would severely limit their educational and career options, a complete reversal of the head start I had been providing my children since 1988.
I learned on January 8, the first day of the 2007 legislative session, that my son Aaron’s 1997-1998 Payson High School report included 5 F’s and a D-, that his final year in school was 1999-2000, and those grades were all F’s.
On January 10, I learned that my son Tyler had also dropped out of his Utah high school at some point in the 1999-2000 school year, that his grades were all F’s.
Before they were taken to Utah, all four of my children were smart and adventurous. They were highly social and all on a college track.
Their kidnappers swore my children were doing fine in school, and that all was wholesome and healthy in their lives.
But the transcripts reveal how desperately unhappy my children were, and that that unhappiness endured year after year during the entire time they were concealed in Utah. The transcripts also reveal that my children received no help from the professionals charged with their wellbeing.
There was no one for my children to turn to, no one to help them with their schoolwork, no one to give them hope. Just a phalanx of lawyers and the church officials who swore the Cruz children were fine.
And—in Aaron’s case—they saw that he received a bottomless supply of psychoactive medication from the age of 15. He never had a chance.
In 2003, I went to court in Utah to ask the judge for my children’s school, medical and employment records, and for a list of their former addresses in Utah.
It was actually hard to find a judge to hear the case. The judge who the case was originally assigned to had been one of those lawyers shielding the courts from the truth.
I learned this fact about the judge moments before the case was to be heard. He greeted my children’s kidnapper warmly and personally from the bench, announced his conflict of interest, and then they had a mad scramble to find a neutral judge in this one-horse town, where they all belong to the same church.
This judge had direct knowledge of the physical and emotional abuse my children were suffering during the years of their mother’s marriage to Steve Nielson, because he was one of the divorce lawyers representing their mother, and he interviewed my children and took their affidavits alleging the abuse.
This judge had to have known about the school records, about the facts of the abduction, and all the other information that was sitting in his own damned files.
After a few hours, they found a judge who could pretend to be impartial, and he ruled that he wanted to take some time to think about the request for records, and there it lies today. I left Utah empty handed—again.
That is how the system works out there, in the state that leads the nation in child molestation.
The transcripts explain why they have fought so hard to maintain secrecy over the past eleven years.
In order to gain access to my son’s high school records, all I had to do was present a copy of his death certificate. In other words, Aaron had to die first.
Aaron died, in fact, just down the street from Payson High School.
The irrepressibly happy part of Aaron died a long time ago, the part that saw a bright future was snuffed out in Utah.
It’s right here in black and white. Academic GPA: 0.00
More on this later, to be sure.
I received some terrible news today
Heartbreaking news.
News that speaks directly to my son Aaron’s suffering as a result of the kidnapping.
How thoroughly they ruined my son's life.
The following information will help place the news in context:
Our 15-year marriage ended in 1991 with an Order for Joint Custody.
The Court found and stated in the Order that “Both parents are fit and proper to raise the couple’s children,” and it laid out a weekly residence schedule for the children, specifying the days and hours that the children would reside with each parent.
Over the five years that transpired between the setting of the Order for Joint Custody and the disappearance of the children, the result was a pattern where I saw my children an average of 180 days each year.
The Order for Joint Custody also specified how decisions would be made regarding issues of the children’s education, their health care and their religious upbringing.
“Both Parents Together,” the Order stated, would make those decisions.
My children’s lives were kept orderly and secure for five years under the protection of the Order for Joint Custody.
My children were all healthy, athletic, smart and beautiful. They were extraordinary children, each of them. They had character and ability and self-confidence. They were highly computer literate. They were all on a college track, there was no doubt about that. There was a magic to them.
The child stealing ring that formed to kidnap my children were apparently concerned about the decision-making function, particularly about how the religious upbringing was going to take place.
Although I did not stand in the way of my former wife taking the children to her church, I was not interested in joining in myself. I did not buy the doctrine they were peddling or the bunker mentality of many Mormon church members.
The child stealing ring determined among themselves that this was sufficient reason to cause the children to disappear. They wanted to firm up their control over the children and at the same time punish me for turning my back on their dogma.
The child stealing ring consisted of church officials in three states, some of whom acted in their official capacity in violating the Order for Joint Custody, and members of my former wife’s family.
David Holiday was a Bishop in a Hillsboro ward, and Evelyn Taylor was President of the Relief Society in Washington County. Both directly and personally influenced my children in their official church capacities and in their association with the LDS seminary program attended by my daughter. Holiday and Taylor were dirty up past their eyeballs in the pre-abduction planning. They knew months in advance.
My children vanished on Monday, February 12, 1996, a school day for those living normal lives.
But there were a number of people who knew very well where my children were, where they were headed, and why.
Donald Taylor was a Bishop in a ward in Southwest Washington. He wrote a letter dated March 2 supporting my children’s mother’s decision-making, and stating under penalty of perjury that my children “visit with their father one day a week.” His letter is signed “Donald D. Taylor, Bishop, La Center Ward, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.” I have never met this man.
On March 2, 1996, I did not know where my children were, but this man did.
Also writing letters to the Court on March 2 were La Center Ward members Barry and Connie Dunford. I do not know these people, but they seem to know much about my children.
Kory Wright, a Mormon official in Utah, and his wife Chris Wright also wrote letters to the court dated March 2. They were in charge of arranging housing and employment on the Utah end of the kidnapping.
Kory Wright wrote this: “Because of the close relationship between our families we have tried to support Gina and the children throughout this ordeal….In the short period they have lived here the children have increased their circle of friends, been involved in numerous activities and made a home for themselves. The schools the children attend are among the best in the state of Utah. Gina has already secured employment and is looking at enhancing her earning opportunities. Clearly, the move here has been a tremendous benefit to both Gina and her children.”
The fact is that Kory Wright arranged for Gina to have work as a maid, and for my children to work after school helping her clean apartments.
Gina had quit her job in the Hillsboro High School library, where my daughter was about to graduate, and where Aaron would have been a student the following year, to take a job as a maid in Utah. In February. While school was still in session.
You know that makes no sense whatsoever.
On an affidavit dated March 4, 1996, Tony Micheletti stated: “My understanding of the current situation regarding my sister, Gina Frischknecht, and her former husband, Sean Cruz, is as follows: Sean is seeking to prevent Gina from remaining in the state of Utah on the grounds that it interferes with his joint custody of the couple’s four children….”
At the time these bastards wrote their letters, I could only guess that my children were in Utah. Yet here were people in three states who had knowledge of my children’s location and who understood that there was an order for joint custody.
Violating a lawful joint custody order by enticing, taking or keeping the children is a Class C felony in the state of Oregon. If you kidnap a child and either take the child out of the state or expose the child to physical harm, the crime moves up to a Class B felony.
This fact, the threat of possible criminal sanctions, supplied the only motivation these criminals needed to keep the Cruz children isolated and under control. Pure self-interest.
The statute of limitations on the kidnapping expired three years later, even though the children were still kidnapped.
I received some information today regarding Aaron that I initially wanted to write about, but I need another day or two to think about what I am going to say.
I’m posting this instead, which will help you understand the context of my next post.
Once, decisions were made by “Both Parents Together.” The children were healthy, happy, moving forward in their lives.
The information I will share next will illustrate the terrible price Aaron paid once the child stealing ring took over all decision making.
News that speaks directly to my son Aaron’s suffering as a result of the kidnapping.
How thoroughly they ruined my son's life.
The following information will help place the news in context:
Our 15-year marriage ended in 1991 with an Order for Joint Custody.
The Court found and stated in the Order that “Both parents are fit and proper to raise the couple’s children,” and it laid out a weekly residence schedule for the children, specifying the days and hours that the children would reside with each parent.
Over the five years that transpired between the setting of the Order for Joint Custody and the disappearance of the children, the result was a pattern where I saw my children an average of 180 days each year.
The Order for Joint Custody also specified how decisions would be made regarding issues of the children’s education, their health care and their religious upbringing.
“Both Parents Together,” the Order stated, would make those decisions.
My children’s lives were kept orderly and secure for five years under the protection of the Order for Joint Custody.
My children were all healthy, athletic, smart and beautiful. They were extraordinary children, each of them. They had character and ability and self-confidence. They were highly computer literate. They were all on a college track, there was no doubt about that. There was a magic to them.
The child stealing ring that formed to kidnap my children were apparently concerned about the decision-making function, particularly about how the religious upbringing was going to take place.
Although I did not stand in the way of my former wife taking the children to her church, I was not interested in joining in myself. I did not buy the doctrine they were peddling or the bunker mentality of many Mormon church members.
The child stealing ring determined among themselves that this was sufficient reason to cause the children to disappear. They wanted to firm up their control over the children and at the same time punish me for turning my back on their dogma.
The child stealing ring consisted of church officials in three states, some of whom acted in their official capacity in violating the Order for Joint Custody, and members of my former wife’s family.
David Holiday was a Bishop in a Hillsboro ward, and Evelyn Taylor was President of the Relief Society in Washington County. Both directly and personally influenced my children in their official church capacities and in their association with the LDS seminary program attended by my daughter. Holiday and Taylor were dirty up past their eyeballs in the pre-abduction planning. They knew months in advance.
My children vanished on Monday, February 12, 1996, a school day for those living normal lives.
But there were a number of people who knew very well where my children were, where they were headed, and why.
Donald Taylor was a Bishop in a ward in Southwest Washington. He wrote a letter dated March 2 supporting my children’s mother’s decision-making, and stating under penalty of perjury that my children “visit with their father one day a week.” His letter is signed “Donald D. Taylor, Bishop, La Center Ward, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.” I have never met this man.
On March 2, 1996, I did not know where my children were, but this man did.
Also writing letters to the Court on March 2 were La Center Ward members Barry and Connie Dunford. I do not know these people, but they seem to know much about my children.
Kory Wright, a Mormon official in Utah, and his wife Chris Wright also wrote letters to the court dated March 2. They were in charge of arranging housing and employment on the Utah end of the kidnapping.
Kory Wright wrote this: “Because of the close relationship between our families we have tried to support Gina and the children throughout this ordeal….In the short period they have lived here the children have increased their circle of friends, been involved in numerous activities and made a home for themselves. The schools the children attend are among the best in the state of Utah. Gina has already secured employment and is looking at enhancing her earning opportunities. Clearly, the move here has been a tremendous benefit to both Gina and her children.”
The fact is that Kory Wright arranged for Gina to have work as a maid, and for my children to work after school helping her clean apartments.
Gina had quit her job in the Hillsboro High School library, where my daughter was about to graduate, and where Aaron would have been a student the following year, to take a job as a maid in Utah. In February. While school was still in session.
You know that makes no sense whatsoever.
On an affidavit dated March 4, 1996, Tony Micheletti stated: “My understanding of the current situation regarding my sister, Gina Frischknecht, and her former husband, Sean Cruz, is as follows: Sean is seeking to prevent Gina from remaining in the state of Utah on the grounds that it interferes with his joint custody of the couple’s four children….”
At the time these bastards wrote their letters, I could only guess that my children were in Utah. Yet here were people in three states who had knowledge of my children’s location and who understood that there was an order for joint custody.
Violating a lawful joint custody order by enticing, taking or keeping the children is a Class C felony in the state of Oregon. If you kidnap a child and either take the child out of the state or expose the child to physical harm, the crime moves up to a Class B felony.
This fact, the threat of possible criminal sanctions, supplied the only motivation these criminals needed to keep the Cruz children isolated and under control. Pure self-interest.
The statute of limitations on the kidnapping expired three years later, even though the children were still kidnapped.
I received some information today regarding Aaron that I initially wanted to write about, but I need another day or two to think about what I am going to say.
I’m posting this instead, which will help you understand the context of my next post.
Once, decisions were made by “Both Parents Together.” The children were healthy, happy, moving forward in their lives.
The information I will share next will illustrate the terrible price Aaron paid once the child stealing ring took over all decision making.
Death of an Oregon Kidnapper
I recently received a comment on BlogoliticalSean relating the death of Tony Micheletti, one of the people most deeply, shamefully and criminally involved in the abduction of the four Cruz children.
In this post, I am publishing the comment from Judith McKenney—who is a complete stranger to me—and my posted reply to her comment.
Now that I’ve had a week to think about things, I will add some additional comments at the end of the post.
Here’s the post from Judith McKenney:
"Judith McKenney said...
"I discovered your sight (sic) by accident, and just thought, before you make comments you will regret, that Tony Micheletti died, December 15th and 705PM of CJD a very very fast acting brain degenerative desease that robbed him of himself - not unlike Alzheimers's but 100X faster. He went from seemingly healthy to death in 2 months!I hope this information doesn't make you happy, or make you feel he has been punished for some transgression. I knew Tony fairly well, and, if he was guilty of what you assert, I am sure he truly believed he was doing the right thing for the children...and it is ONLY the children who are important! I haven't read your whole article, but in perusing it, I didn't notice where you stated your ex-wife's justification for doing this...she thought she was justified...why?"
Here’s my reply to Ms McKenney’s comment:
Judith McKenney:
I don't know why your comment posted on this thread. I think you were responding to a different post, one of the abduction-related postings, but it posted here. I'll respond to your comment here.
I have little information about any members of the Micheletti family since the kidnapping and had not heard of Tony Micheletti’s death. I had hoped to see him in court someday.
The harm he caused my children and my family is for forever.
My former wife was getting divorced from someone else when the Micheletti family and their friends and associates caused my children to disappear. There was no safety issue, and no allegations of abuse were made by any of the parties.
My children lost both of their homes, all of their friends, their neighborhood, their schools, their dad, their dad's entire family and their opportunities to live a normal life. Their grandmother passed away four years after the kidnapping without seeing or hearing from her grandchildren again.
The only two things that remained constant in their lives were the Micheletti family and the Mormon church, and every person involved in the kidnapping who was not a member of the Micheletti family was a member of the church.
This group of people decided that they wanted to raise my children in a Mormon-controlled environment, knew that the joint custody order was a barrier, and together they planned and carried out a criminal act: the abduction of four children, “…taken, enticed and kept” in violation of a valid joint custody order, a class “B” felony. This was the controlling motive, and they knew they were committing a crime.
That first criminal act led to others. They committed additional criminal acts to protect themselves from discovery.
Child abduction victims suffer emotional damage in the same ways that child sex abuse victims suffer, including an inability to form lasting relationships, to trust others.
My former wife is now with her fifth husband. My children are on their third stepdad, one stepdad for each of the three states they’ve resided in since the order for joint custody was first violated.
Among my adult children I can count one death, two broken marriages, severe depression, failing grades, chemical dependency and other problems and issues.
And the two constants: the Micheletti family and the Mormon church, the same group who decided to take my children out of their schools and put them on the road during the Great Storm of February 1996.
You suggested that Tony Micheletti thought he was doing the right thing for my children, and I want to respond to that:
Tony Micheletti didn’t know my children.
He was not close to my family in any way. I had not seen him in more than five years before the kidnapping, and neither had my children. Later, my son Aaron told me that when they saw “Uncle Tony” on February 12, the day my children disappeared, they did not recognize him.
He absolutely knew that they were taking the children in violation of a valid joint custody order, and I have that in his sworn statement. He also committed perjury, and I have that evidence too.
As I write this comment, the Northwest remains in the grip of major heavy weather. There are three climbers lost on Mt. Hood. A man died in southern Oregon earlier this week after his family became lost and stuck in the snow. Power is out in many areas, and people are in general trying to stay out of the weather and off of the roads.
This is precisely the same weather in which my four children disappeared nearly eleven years ago, and on a day they should have been in school. How do you justify that?
Additional Thoughts on Christmas Day 2006:
It was at “Uncle Tony’s” house near Salem, on the day the children disappeared, that they learned that they were going to Utah and not coming back. They had already been out of school for a week, bouncing from one place to another in Oregon and Washington, during the Great Storm of February 1996.
February 12 was the day they vanished, and they were at Tony Micheletti’s house near Salem that day, a school day.
He wasn’t concerned about the children’s safety in the weather or their absence from their schools. He wasn’t concerned about their elderly and frail grandmother, who was living with me at the time, or our three-generation household.
He didn’t know anything about the Cruz family, had never been to my house, had never been to his own sister’s house. My children had forgotten what he looked like.
So, to suggest that Tony Micheletti acted out of love for my children is a far, far stretch. The smug bastard was always convinced he was smarter than anyone else.
A few weeks after my kids had disappeared, Tony Micheletti was one of several co-kidnappers living in three states who wrote letters describing how wonderful my children’s new lives were at an undisclosed location in Utah.
The fact that there were people in three states who claimed in sworn statements to have a close relationship with my children’s circumstances at a time when I could only guess at their location has never been lost on me.
As if to demonstrate that criminals are never the sharpest pencils in the box, several co-kidnappers wrote sworn statements. The copies I eventually received even have the fax information printed at the top, and that tells a story too. You know that they never thought about faxes and a paper trail.
The story they tell is, basically, “Hey, we’re involved in a criminal conspiracy, all of us, all together. Not only that, we’re a bunch of liars and we’re going to write some lies down and swear they are true.”
Among the Oregon kidnappers, Evelyn Taylor and David Holiday of Hillsboro were smart enough not to put anything in writing, as far as I can tell.
Cynthia Anderson of Clatskanie also perjured herself, but that document didn’t surface for several years.
The really stupid, self-absorbed, most-criminal kidnappers were the now-dead Tony Micheletti, and Chris and Kory Wright in Utah, and they put it in writing.
I had hoped, hoped, hoped to get them all in a courtroom together.
They broke my children’s hearts, all four of them. And they did this knowing full well what they were doing. I will never forgive them for breaking my children’s hearts.
For that fact alone, as a parent, I admit that I have wanted to beat their faces in with a shovel.
They moved my children from one isolated Mormon enclave to another. My children—since 1995—were not permitted to leave the state of Utah except under direct control by Mormon church members. And this is America.
Aaron, after a serious beating, attempted to run away from one of those enclaves. The local police found him hitchhiking in the mountains in the middle of the night and took him back to his mother and stepdad #2, who had administered the beating.
You can really count on those Utah police.
Here’s what I have to say at this time about Tony Micheletti:
Child abduction—by any person—is child abuse. I’m talking to you, Tony.
More on this later, to be sure….
In this post, I am publishing the comment from Judith McKenney—who is a complete stranger to me—and my posted reply to her comment.
Now that I’ve had a week to think about things, I will add some additional comments at the end of the post.
Here’s the post from Judith McKenney:
"Judith McKenney said...
"I discovered your sight (sic) by accident, and just thought, before you make comments you will regret, that Tony Micheletti died, December 15th and 705PM of CJD a very very fast acting brain degenerative desease that robbed him of himself - not unlike Alzheimers's but 100X faster. He went from seemingly healthy to death in 2 months!I hope this information doesn't make you happy, or make you feel he has been punished for some transgression. I knew Tony fairly well, and, if he was guilty of what you assert, I am sure he truly believed he was doing the right thing for the children...and it is ONLY the children who are important! I haven't read your whole article, but in perusing it, I didn't notice where you stated your ex-wife's justification for doing this...she thought she was justified...why?"
Here’s my reply to Ms McKenney’s comment:
Judith McKenney:
I don't know why your comment posted on this thread. I think you were responding to a different post, one of the abduction-related postings, but it posted here. I'll respond to your comment here.
I have little information about any members of the Micheletti family since the kidnapping and had not heard of Tony Micheletti’s death. I had hoped to see him in court someday.
The harm he caused my children and my family is for forever.
My former wife was getting divorced from someone else when the Micheletti family and their friends and associates caused my children to disappear. There was no safety issue, and no allegations of abuse were made by any of the parties.
My children lost both of their homes, all of their friends, their neighborhood, their schools, their dad, their dad's entire family and their opportunities to live a normal life. Their grandmother passed away four years after the kidnapping without seeing or hearing from her grandchildren again.
The only two things that remained constant in their lives were the Micheletti family and the Mormon church, and every person involved in the kidnapping who was not a member of the Micheletti family was a member of the church.
This group of people decided that they wanted to raise my children in a Mormon-controlled environment, knew that the joint custody order was a barrier, and together they planned and carried out a criminal act: the abduction of four children, “…taken, enticed and kept” in violation of a valid joint custody order, a class “B” felony. This was the controlling motive, and they knew they were committing a crime.
That first criminal act led to others. They committed additional criminal acts to protect themselves from discovery.
Child abduction victims suffer emotional damage in the same ways that child sex abuse victims suffer, including an inability to form lasting relationships, to trust others.
My former wife is now with her fifth husband. My children are on their third stepdad, one stepdad for each of the three states they’ve resided in since the order for joint custody was first violated.
Among my adult children I can count one death, two broken marriages, severe depression, failing grades, chemical dependency and other problems and issues.
And the two constants: the Micheletti family and the Mormon church, the same group who decided to take my children out of their schools and put them on the road during the Great Storm of February 1996.
You suggested that Tony Micheletti thought he was doing the right thing for my children, and I want to respond to that:
Tony Micheletti didn’t know my children.
He was not close to my family in any way. I had not seen him in more than five years before the kidnapping, and neither had my children. Later, my son Aaron told me that when they saw “Uncle Tony” on February 12, the day my children disappeared, they did not recognize him.
He absolutely knew that they were taking the children in violation of a valid joint custody order, and I have that in his sworn statement. He also committed perjury, and I have that evidence too.
As I write this comment, the Northwest remains in the grip of major heavy weather. There are three climbers lost on Mt. Hood. A man died in southern Oregon earlier this week after his family became lost and stuck in the snow. Power is out in many areas, and people are in general trying to stay out of the weather and off of the roads.
This is precisely the same weather in which my four children disappeared nearly eleven years ago, and on a day they should have been in school. How do you justify that?
Additional Thoughts on Christmas Day 2006:
It was at “Uncle Tony’s” house near Salem, on the day the children disappeared, that they learned that they were going to Utah and not coming back. They had already been out of school for a week, bouncing from one place to another in Oregon and Washington, during the Great Storm of February 1996.
February 12 was the day they vanished, and they were at Tony Micheletti’s house near Salem that day, a school day.
He wasn’t concerned about the children’s safety in the weather or their absence from their schools. He wasn’t concerned about their elderly and frail grandmother, who was living with me at the time, or our three-generation household.
He didn’t know anything about the Cruz family, had never been to my house, had never been to his own sister’s house. My children had forgotten what he looked like.
So, to suggest that Tony Micheletti acted out of love for my children is a far, far stretch. The smug bastard was always convinced he was smarter than anyone else.
A few weeks after my kids had disappeared, Tony Micheletti was one of several co-kidnappers living in three states who wrote letters describing how wonderful my children’s new lives were at an undisclosed location in Utah.
The fact that there were people in three states who claimed in sworn statements to have a close relationship with my children’s circumstances at a time when I could only guess at their location has never been lost on me.
As if to demonstrate that criminals are never the sharpest pencils in the box, several co-kidnappers wrote sworn statements. The copies I eventually received even have the fax information printed at the top, and that tells a story too. You know that they never thought about faxes and a paper trail.
The story they tell is, basically, “Hey, we’re involved in a criminal conspiracy, all of us, all together. Not only that, we’re a bunch of liars and we’re going to write some lies down and swear they are true.”
Among the Oregon kidnappers, Evelyn Taylor and David Holiday of Hillsboro were smart enough not to put anything in writing, as far as I can tell.
Cynthia Anderson of Clatskanie also perjured herself, but that document didn’t surface for several years.
The really stupid, self-absorbed, most-criminal kidnappers were the now-dead Tony Micheletti, and Chris and Kory Wright in Utah, and they put it in writing.
I had hoped, hoped, hoped to get them all in a courtroom together.
They broke my children’s hearts, all four of them. And they did this knowing full well what they were doing. I will never forgive them for breaking my children’s hearts.
For that fact alone, as a parent, I admit that I have wanted to beat their faces in with a shovel.
They moved my children from one isolated Mormon enclave to another. My children—since 1995—were not permitted to leave the state of Utah except under direct control by Mormon church members. And this is America.
Aaron, after a serious beating, attempted to run away from one of those enclaves. The local police found him hitchhiking in the mountains in the middle of the night and took him back to his mother and stepdad #2, who had administered the beating.
You can really count on those Utah police.
Here’s what I have to say at this time about Tony Micheletti:
Child abduction—by any person—is child abuse. I’m talking to you, Tony.
More on this later, to be sure….
Walking 1000 miles to find my kids
In 2002, I decided to attempt to walk from Portland to Utah.
I had fought unsuccessfully in the courts through four jurisdictions in three states, trying to locate and establish contact with my children against the unlimited legal resources of the child abduction ring that had taken them.
They had hired more than a dozen lawyers at one time or another and six years had gone by since my kids had disappeared.
At every point where contact with my children could be achieved—short visits supervised by associates of the very people who had abducted them—the kids were intimidated into silence. Their demeanors were wooden, and they were shadowed by people taking notes and reporting on what was said, on what transpired. There would be a penalty for appearing happy to see me.
These sessions were so tortuous to my children and myself that I stopped fighting for visits in the courts. I didn’t want to see my children ripped in half like that.
But I could not do nothing. One day, I decided to walk to Utah, hoping to send a message to my children that I had not forgotten them, that they were still my number one priority.
I had no illusions about actually seeing my children, but I wanted to send a message that was clear—I’m your father and I love you this much.
My plan was fairly simple. I would walk fifteen miles a day and sleep by the side of the road. I would leave in late Spring, avoiding the cold of winter and the heat of summer. That was pretty much the plan.
I made a banner to wear on the back of my pack, to let people know I was walking, not hitchhiking.
I decided to start the walk on the courthouse steps in Vancouver, Washington, where I fought in court for the first two and half years of the abduction. From the beginning, the walk was intended to be symbolic.
In upcoming posts, I will write the story of this walk. I took some pictures along the way. I’ll post those, too.
I had fought unsuccessfully in the courts through four jurisdictions in three states, trying to locate and establish contact with my children against the unlimited legal resources of the child abduction ring that had taken them.
They had hired more than a dozen lawyers at one time or another and six years had gone by since my kids had disappeared.
At every point where contact with my children could be achieved—short visits supervised by associates of the very people who had abducted them—the kids were intimidated into silence. Their demeanors were wooden, and they were shadowed by people taking notes and reporting on what was said, on what transpired. There would be a penalty for appearing happy to see me.
These sessions were so tortuous to my children and myself that I stopped fighting for visits in the courts. I didn’t want to see my children ripped in half like that.
But I could not do nothing. One day, I decided to walk to Utah, hoping to send a message to my children that I had not forgotten them, that they were still my number one priority.
I had no illusions about actually seeing my children, but I wanted to send a message that was clear—I’m your father and I love you this much.
My plan was fairly simple. I would walk fifteen miles a day and sleep by the side of the road. I would leave in late Spring, avoiding the cold of winter and the heat of summer. That was pretty much the plan.
I made a banner to wear on the back of my pack, to let people know I was walking, not hitchhiking.
I decided to start the walk on the courthouse steps in Vancouver, Washington, where I fought in court for the first two and half years of the abduction. From the beginning, the walk was intended to be symbolic.
In upcoming posts, I will write the story of this walk. I took some pictures along the way. I’ll post those, too.
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