I’m sorry about that, the article is not behind a paywall for me (I’m in Europe). There is a site that I use sometimes when I encounter paywalls and it usually works:
12ft – Hop any paywall
Here are some snippets from the article:
The News Journal
[…]
James Cole hadn’t heard from his youngest daughter in more than a year.
He’d reach out weekly, then every few weeks, but Kristie Cole Haas’ phone would ring and ring before ultimately going to voicemail. She wouldn’t return his texts, either.
James, who lives in western Kentucky, was concerned but not surprised. For much of his life, he’d had a rocky relationship with his 28-year-old daughter, who had struggled with addiction since her mid teens.
James and Kristie’s mother had also divorced when Kristie and her elder sister, Kelsey, were young. The parents didn’t get along and the girls were often caught in the middle.
Still, James tried to maintain a relationship with Kristie for the sake of her four children.
He hadn’t seen the youngest, Emma Grace Cole, since she was born on Jan. 10, 2016. But he wanted to be part of his daughter’s and grandchildren’s lives – especially after Kristie moved from Indiana to Delaware in 2017.
This particular Thursday night in September 2020, Kristie’s lack of communication worried James. Earlier in the day, Kelsey – who sporadically kept in touch with Kristie – had told him about a strange conversation she’d had first with her mother, then Kristie, about Emma Grace.
The little girl, Kelsey told James, was no longer living with Kristie in Delaware.
Kelsey didn’t know exactly why. Her mother had given her one explanation, while Kristie had said Emma Grace had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and was at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
That didn’t make sense to Kelsey or James, given the girl wasn’t even 5 years old. So, as James watched the Kansas City Chiefs kick off, he began scrolling through the websites of Delaware funeral homes on the off chance that Emma Grace’s name or photo would appear.
[…]
Emma Grace, whose biological father is Joshua Douthitt, had been thriving in the care of her paternal great-aunt, Tanya Axsom. Kristie had voluntarily given Emma Grace to Axsom in April 2016 during the height of her struggle with addiction, and an Indiana court later appointed Axsom as Emma Grace’s guardian.
Less than a year-and-a-half later, in September 2017, a judge terminated the guardianship and returned Emma Grace to Kristie. The decision was a blow to Axsom and a court-appointed child advocate, both of whom believed Kristie and Emma Grace were not bonded.
The judge had reservations too, yet ruled in Kristie’s favor
[…]
Had James not stumbled across the Smyrna police website, Galzi said, Emma Grace might still be “Baby Elle,” as the detectives nicknamed her. And while she’s glad her image was instrumental in Emma Grace’s identification, it’s a muted kind of happiness.
Identifying a child can bring closure and justice. It also brings heartbreak.
Because Emma Grace was named, her family was able to give her a proper burial. They know where she died, and have some idea how she was killed.
They also know an Indiana judge returned her to Kristie’s care despite the wishes and recommendations of Axsom and a court-appointed child advocate, and that even the judge had misgivings. And they know that when he did this, Emma Grace lost all protections she had in Indiana.