This is How They are Stealing our Children

It all began with a cell phone that didn’t belong to my daughter, passed around among different kids, each logging into various social media accounts. The school said it wasn't their problem and the police advised me to return it to the mother who owned it. I followed their instructions, thinking we were past it.

My daughter claimed she was just goofing around with the name changes and pronouns I discovered in the cell phone, and I believed her. As eighth grade progressed, counselors suggested she join a group for anxious kids and seek therapy, all without my consent. I was relieved when summer break arrived.

Her style was quirky designs, face freckles, winged eyeliner, mushroom and frog themed clothes matching her handmade earrings. Freshman year, she was excited to join the theater group. Then, she announced she was dating a street-smart biological female identifying as a boy, known for helping other kids find shelters. Rumors swirled that my daughter had also adopted a new identity.

When I questioned her, she became defensive, unable to give clear answers. I found a note on her phone, tracking every time we misgendered her. We argued and she ran away. The police wouldn't look for her. I posted a flyer on Facebook. A mom messaged, saying my daughter claimed I didn’t love her for being trans. She advised me to pick my battles as she also had a trans identified kid.

I tried to bring my daughter home, but she ran again. Hours later, we found her, and crisis intervention was called. She refused to come home, and they offered her a youth shelter instead. The shelter offered her resources through The Transponder Community and The Eugene Drop. She came home and I was able to I move her to a charter school.

In May 2023, after another heated argument, she ran away again. This time, I tried to deny shelter permission, but Child Protective Services intervened for a second investigation, and I reluctantly agreed. She came home for a few months, only to run away twice more in August, triggering a third CPS investigation even though the first to had been deemed unfounded. 

By September, a homeless youth program called 15th Night used the McKinney-Vento Act to change her school district, teaching her to how to claim homelessness to get benefits.

By March 2024, I found out she was no longer attending school. The police refused to file a missing person’s report, claiming they had spoken with her and that she was living with friends but wouldn’t share any additional information. Now, I have no idea where my 16-year-old daughter is.

I relay my story in this podcast:

An ROGD Mom Against The System