I don't admire either of Haleigh's bio parents. It seems little Haleigh and her brother had the misfortune to be born to two people who are, IMO, not good parents.
Crystal has allegedly had a drug problem. RC? He left the two little children at his home at night with a young girl who was only a child herself, and who (for whatever reason) was apparently not competent to protect them. And let's not forget that, to RC, this girl (who was only a child herself) was expected to act and be like a grown up, mature, adult. He clearly did not consider that MC was only a child. Too young to be his wife, mother to his kids, etc., etc. For those on here who were already married or mothers when 17, were you as clueless as MC seems to be? I doubt it!
And his home? A child was stolen from inside it. I was once involved with a case in which a 1-year-old died (suffocated while sleeping in bed with other children and a female relative). All the other children were removed from that home by the state--they were considered to be in imminent danger of harm, simply because a child had died in the care of this female relative. If the same reasoning were used, the state could claim that RC's home is (arguably) not safe for the remaining child.
But then, it seems clear that Crystal may not be a suitable caregiver either. Poor kids--who is left? And btw--why is the little boy not staying with his father? Okay, maybe because his father is too preoccupied looking for Haleigh. Okay, but then why is the little boy not with one of his grandmothers? Why is he with a great-grandmother? Wouldn't a grandmother be of more suitable age (younger, more energy) to care for such a young child?
I'll admit that I had an unfavorable impression of RC, because he was so quick to haul off and address MC as "" when everyone was presumably concentrating on getting the info to the police so they could help. My OPINION is that it wouldn't be much of a stretch for such a person to be abusive. While I don't think anyone should try to blame RC if there is no evidence against him in this case, I am not ready to canonize him either.
NG can harp on an allegedly false police report filed by Crystal, but I still find it believable that RC may have acted in an abusive manner towards her when they were together. MOO. It's not that Crystal is necessarily such a saint; it's that RC isn't one, either. MOO. Sorry, NG, I'm not convinced. IMO, it's quite possible that RC may treat his partner or spouse the same way you treat most of your guests! And that's not good, IMO.