Deceased/Not Found Ca - Hannah,16 (fnd dec), Devonte,15, (dec nf) Ciera Hart,12 (fnd dec),mendocino Cty,26 Mar 2018 #7

[HeidiTX232]

It is very much possible, and very likely, that the bio fam could have continued visiting until closer to the time when the adoption process began, while the kids were being fostered (Does anyone know if the Harts were the first foster fam for these kids).

In general, it is very unlikely a rules out aunt, esp ruled out for giving access to a child abusing drug addict, continued visitation after CPS removed the children from the home. The only reason I can guess why that would be allowed is because the aunt continued to fight to get them back; so the goal would be to maintain the relationship until a final decision to sever it. Still is very unlikely in my experience and what I’ve seen otherwise.

No, the Harts weren’t the first foster family. The kids had to be in care from December 2006 until the Harts got them. Additionally, CPS would have tried to find preadoptive placements for the siblings in Texas first. My guess is that they blew through a few homes as well as having more trouble finding placements due to race, including a male, etc. I understand this is speculation; but I also know the Texas fostercare system. Of course, there have been questions of shady practices with the agency so that could have played into something being done differently; but even then, it is more likely to be a combination of the two situations.

 

[HeidiTX232]

The “free hugs” thing bugs me more and more every time I read it!

Generally, kids “from hard places” have boundary issues. You usually would encourage intimacy only by choice, with permission, with people you know intimately, etc. you’d be stricter about that than you would with kids from more typical family situations, not freely giving hugs to random strangers! In time, you could let up but not so much as to having your 12yo hugging complete strangers regularly!

 

[gcharlie]

The weather in Texas varies immensely, so it is entirely possible that there was a warm enough December day for a sleeveless dress. That certainly doesn’t give me any pause, particularly knowing they were in the Houston area which is pretty southern. It can be 80 degrees in Texas in winter, and we don’t bat an eye.

I know the weather can change quite a bit.

I was born and raised in New England, where we definitely had our winter clothes and summer clothes. When I spent time in New Orleans and Florida, I was surprised that they had winter clothes as well. LOL

My point wasn't so much how warm it gets in Texas in December, but whether people are likely to dress a baby in a sleeveless dress during December.

Also think about when Sierra was born (April) and different sizes for baby clothes (0 to 3 m, 6m, 9m, 12m, 18m, 2T) and seasons.

 

[rosemadderlake]

For Immediate Release: The Hart case fits a pattern of abusive homeschooling following child abuse convictions, cases, and reports

Only one state — Pennsylvania — currently bars convicted child abusers from homeschooling, and then only if the conviction is in the past five years. No state has any system to flag cases where parents pull a child to homeschool after a child protective services case is closed, or after a series of concerning child abuse reports. Coleman, however, is hopeful. “We are seeing more legislation designed to protect at-risk homeschooled children introduced this year than we have any year since our founding in 2013,” she notes.

“Public education is not perfect, but attending school does offer children access to a support system outside of the home,” Coleman stated. “Prior involvement with child protective services is one of the strongest predictors of future abuse. We as a society need to protect children who are especially vulnerable, not abandon them.”

https://www.responsiblehomeschooling.org/hart-childrens-deaths-raise-questions-about-homeschool-law/

---
Bbm: This is one loophole that could be addressed to "the abusers" who take advantage of homeschooling to isolate children.

There was virtually no homeschooling back in my day, or in my region. So, it is a more recent alternative. And while it is a fabulous alternative for some, this case highlights what is missing, how abusers disappear their kids off the radar.

These two women managed an abuse conviction, and never even registered their kids in a homeschool program. That's really slipping through the cracks with the sirens blaring. These children were virtually like prisoners and completely dependent.

And Devonte and Hannah show how desperate they were in reaching out for an advocate.

I can't help but think, what if Jenn just didn't buck the system, sent her kids to school, got a part time job... Took advantage of the services available to her kids. All had more money. She might have been sane.

I wouldn't be surprised if they were really overextended financially. Trips, traveling, festivals, costs run up. Big house, big mortgage... Eight people's needs...

What she sacrificed was her soul, and she knew it, and then turned that failure to thrive onto her kids. No loving parent of kids, adopted or otherwise, will ever understand this...

 

[Momoffourboys]

The “free hugs” thing bugs me more and more every time I read it!

Generally, kids “from hard places” have boundary issues. You usually would encourage intimacy only by choice, with permission, with people you know intimately, etc. you’d be stricter about that than you would with kids from more typical family situations, not freely giving hugs to random strangers! In time, you could let up but not so much as to having your 12yo hugging complete strangers regularly!

So so true.
Add to that the b.s they were telling people about his horrible life before they “saved” him. So dysfunctional on so many levels.

 

[Kajol85]

No, we don't. Jen and Sarah's actions are an anomaly and singular to them. They might have been members of our "community" but they certainly do not represent us as a whole.

^^^

There is and was a lot of rugsweeping going on. People go to festivals to have fun. IME, many are very unaware of the darker side that is exsisting right in front of their faces. Of course not all people, but yes problem are rugswept or ignored. Clearly these kids were not really seen by many, other than cute extensions of Jen and Sarah. Arms the size of twigs, bones protruding...

 

[gcharlie]

For Immediate Release: The Hart case fits a pattern of abusive homeschooling following child abuse convictions, cases, and reports

Only one state — Pennsylvania — currently bars convicted child abusers from homeschooling, and then only if the conviction is in the past five years. No state has any system to flag cases where parents pull a child to homeschool after a child protective services case is closed, or after a series of concerning child abuse reports. Coleman, however, is hopeful. “We are seeing more legislation designed to protect at-risk homeschooled children introduced this year than we have any year since our founding in 2013,” she notes.

“Public education is not perfect, but attending school does offer children access to a support system outside of the home,” Coleman stated. “Prior involvement with child protective services is one of the strongest predictors of future abuse. We as a society need to protect children who are especially vulnerable, not abandon them.”

https://www.responsiblehomeschooling.org/hart-childrens-deaths-raise-questions-about-homeschool-law/

From the linked article:

In a 2014 study of child abuse so severe that it could be termed torture, researcher Barbara Knox of the University of Wisconsin found that 47% of the school-aged victims she studied had been removed from school to be homeschooled. “This ‘homeschooling’ appears to have been designed to further isolate the child and typically occurred after closure of a previously opened CPS case,” Knox wrote. The abuse typically intensified after homeschooling began.

BBM

 

[Kajol85]

Oregon Live keeps updating their gallery of pictures related to this case.

Here are a few pictures of Sierra with her biological father and paternal aunt. An earlier article on the legal efforts the aunt went through to keep the kids said that she had custody for 6 1/2 months ending in December 2006.

Sierra was born in April 2006. In December 2006, she would have been 8 months old. I think she looks older than that in this picture,which would suggest that the family was still visiting with the children when they were in foster care.

Any Texans here? If so, would you normally be dressing your baby in a sleeveless dress in December?

View attachment 133537

View attachment 133538

Those are pics from the bio family, before foster care. The paper did an interview with bio family and those pics were provided by them.
Texas is hot AF, I am sure the clothes were just fine. And even if it wasn't hot they appear to be indoors so no biggie.

 

[Kajol85]

DECEMBER 10, 2014
The Problem With Hugs

Devonte Hart – we’ve been told repeatedly by newspapers and social media – is the adopted black child of two white mothers. It’s one of these mothers who, even before Devonte stumbled onto internet fame, released his private history to the world in an interview with an online magazine, where we are told the most horrifically personal details of Devonte’s life without any indication he has given his consent for their release: “Devonte Hart entered the world 12 years ago with drugs pumping through his tiny newborn body. By the time he was 4 years old he had smoked, consumed alcohol, handled guns, been shot at, and suffered severe abuse and neglect. He knew only a handful of words, including *advertiser censored** and s***, and he struggled to identify with the names of food, body parts and every day objects. Devonte was a violent toddler and his health was weighed down by a heavy list of disabilities.”

To take someone else’s story and to exploit it in this way is a deeply violent act. To take an adopted child’s story and exploit it is even more violent.

https://www.counterpunch.org/2014/12/10/the-problem-with-hugs/

---
This is an academic, well thought out article challenging Jen Hart's motives that was written and published in December 2014 after Devonte's photo went worldwide. But it really targets how invasive Jen's abuse was before his viral fame in violating and using an apocalyptic narrative to suit perhaps covering up her own trail of prior abuse by heaping it all on Devonte's early life.

Bbms: So that backlash that Jen said she received in her mailbox was perhaps a very real, in depth expose and insight into a portrait of a narcissist and an abuser of children whose fragile start in life she signed on to protect. This author nailed it in highlighting her abuse of Devonte's privacy by writing and publishing that story about him. --Imo

The complexities of the issues outlined in this piece I'm sure was beyond her scope. But, she Jen, and (Sarah) were self serving monsters hiding behind many layers. This was her M.O. with every CPS investigation. She was no doubt a convincing smooth talker hiding behind alternative lifestyle BS and all the peace love catch phrases. Her partner in crime was a very capable accomplice.

Where I think her community was perhaps blinded was in did anyone think about the publishing of these children in this way? -The hugs, the staged songs, the dancing in the skivvies? Did they all publish their own children in this way?

I think this aspect of usury is an abuse that might have helped CPS recognize the red flags. I don't blame CPS for missing all this as Oregon CPS has stated they are looking to change their assessment from incident based to a broader assessment of child. safety.

The tragedy here is how many failed these children in spite of those who tried to wave those red flags. --To no avail.

Great post, and I loooove counterpunch!!

 

[rosemadderlake]

Baby Ciera is darling. What a beautiful baby.

I hope Devonte, Jeremiah, and Ciera's bio relatives might know we are here. This is such a catastrophic loss for them because there must have been the hope that they would be reunited one day, that somehow these kids would find their way back as adults one day.

And, I wonder about Markis, Hannah, and Abigail's origins, their relatives.

To realize that none of this should have ever happened, ever happened this way is an overwhelming sadness.

I have a relative who adopted a baby and it is an open adoption. They are all like relatives... It is a happy extended family scene. To share the love is pretty powerful.

Even with all our WS TOS we all manage to cover a lot of ground. We have a 'not giving up spirit' on this thread, on WS. I hope they know that, too.

 

[cady]

So so true.
Add to that the b.s they were telling people about his horrible life before they “saved” him. So dysfunctional on so many levels.

Ciera was wearing a bib in that photo.....so, at least they were feeding her. If she is a full sister of Jeremiah, that's his bio dad too. Looks like a grandpa to me, though. Reportedly, Devonte and Jer were half brothers. JMO

 

[HeidiTX232]

Though I generally think that homeschoolers shouldn’t have much, if any, oversight as well as that “bad people” aren’t likely to comply with homeschool regulations anyway, I do think PA’s rule of not being able to homeschool after founded child abuse makes sense. Of course, the Harts didn’t comply with the regulations anyway. The only way to make sure people complied would be to have them submit documentation every six months. But if they move states, that won’t really work either because the state receiving documentation won’t know where they got off to (and I doubt there is any legislation that would make State B uphold the decisions of State A even if you could find them).

 

[rosemadderlake]

Forgive if already discussed.. too hard to keep ahead on the posts..
Just wondering on the family's pet dogs..
Is it possible the fam dropped the dogs off to a trusted friend/acquaintance to look after while they 'went travelling'? If so, how likely is it that those people wouldn't have come forward to say so, and explain what happened and when and what was said?
It's weird to me that no dogs have been found.. but maybe it's not weird if it's too easy for little dogs to be carried away in the waters?
Thoughts?

AFAIK, no comprehensive report of the vehicle has been released. Would everything wash out to sea? Wouldn't some things float? If they had the dogs would there be a compartment with dog food, bowls, water? I wonder if they have checked the rescue shelters in Naselle area?

I too find it odd that in addition to Devonte, and Hannah, the two dogs are still missing.

Was LE able to determine the dogs might be missing too?

I remember reading in one of the recent articles that one of their friends had spoken to the FBI. And, I think because of a whole host of reasons many who knew them are not speaking publicly. --like the woman who received the 3am text from Sarah, and called 911. Whose phone was found on the cliff site? Did they have a burner phone? So, I am wondering if the investigation is on the QT as they try to retrace their steps. And, part where the FBI comes in is in their resources to track their digital footprint?

Some guy on you tube had pinned their possible map. He even had cell tower reception mapped out. It was interesting. The question is why Naselle area, first? And I didn't know there is a four mile bridge that connects WA to OR as you head to 101 on the coast. Also, listed on the FBI's page are five possible state parks in N. California.

It's a massive endeavor because they really trekked a lot of miles in two days.

 

[Rotten apple]

AFAIK, no comprehensive report of the vehicle has been released. Would everything wash out to sea? Wouldn't some things float? If they had the dogs would there be a compartment with dog food, bowls, water? I wonder if they have checked the rescue shelters in Naselle area?

I too find it odd that in addition to Devonte, and Hannah, the two dogs are still missing.

Was LE able to determine the dogs might be missing too?

I remember reading in one of the recent articles that one of their friends had spoken to the FBI. And, I think because of a whole host of reasons many who knew them are not speaking publicly. --like the woman who received the 3am text from Sarah, and called 911. Whose phone was found on the cliff site? Did they have a burner phone? So, I am wondering if the investigation is on the QT as they try to retrace their steps. And, part where the FBI comes in is in their resources to track their digital footprint?

Some guy on you tube had pinned their possible map. He even had cell tower reception mapped out. It was interesting. The question is why Naselle area, first? And I didn't know there is a four mile bridge that connects WA to OR as you head to 101 on the coast. Also, listed on the FBI's page are five possible state parks in N. California.

It's a massive endeavor because they really trekked a lot of miles in two days.

I would be really interested to see a list of what they did recover from the vehicle. Suitcases or duffel bags? Tents, etc? Food? Did it look like they were prepared to be gone for a while, like really prepared, or more like one or two bags with some random clothing thrown in to make it look like they were traveling and maybe a sleeping bag?

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

 

[MrsEmmaPeel]

I wonder if OregonLive or the other news sources will stay on LE for more information. Do you believe this is the only thing that might keep an investigation going? It seems odd to me that Devonte and the dogs are missing -- the favorites. And Hannah, who may have been least favorite. Were Devonte and dogs spared? Given a different death? Dogs let go? Too coincidental for me.

 

[MistyM]

if they took the kids somewhere else (or the dogs for that matter) do you think they would have had any evidence of that on their cell phone records? could they get a print out of their texting and any other aps they might have used to contact people? i wonder what info they got off that phone they found (if it turned out to be the hart's phone).

 

[Doghairrules]

Ciera was wearing a bib in that photo.....so, at least they were feeding her. If she is a full sister of Jeremiah, that's his bio dad too. Looks like a grandpa to me, though. Reportedly, Devonte and Jer were half brothers. JMO

And she looks appropriately filled out.

 

[Doghairrules]

I wonder if OregonLive or the other news sources will stay on LE for more information. Do you believe this is the only thing that might keep an investigation going? It seems odd to me that Devonte and the dogs are missing -- the favorites. And Hannah, who may have been least favorite. Were Devonte and dogs spared? Given a different death? Dogs let go? Too coincidental for me.

I think if they figured out that devonte triggered the latest cps call, he was no longer the favorite. I can’t imagine what they might have done to him for that “betrayal.” And he likely knew because they probably did horrible things to Hannah when she ran to the neighbors. What a brave soul he was, trying to save himself and his siblings. He was more protective than the momsters.

 

[gcharlie]

I keep wondering what LE found at that house and did not find when they first went there. And if they have gone back again.

Because so few people visited that home, it would be hard to know what was missing.

Was there still a tent at home? Sleeping bags? Backpacks for the kids? Toothbrushes?

Seems to me it would take LE more than one visit to piece this all together. But, hey, who am I but am armchair sleuth?

 

[PinkPrincessPoop]

Yes! This is why homeschooling laws NEED to be tougher. Organizations like HSLDA make putting any regulations on homeschoolers impossible. They claim to be for children's rights but they are NOT. They are for parent's rights! They have gone on record saying they would not support laws that would bar child abusers from homeschooling.