I agree. If that's the way it went down, then yes, it was shifty. If he decided to exercise his rights, the decent thing to do would be to directly contact Jessica/Becca and let them know his intentions. Of course, we have no idea what sort of relationship they had, so I can't speculate too much on why he didn't do this.
BBM Here's where things get muddled in my mind. Trista and Justin had an "agreement." According to the family timeline, Trista agreed to let Ayla stay with Justin after she got out of rehab, and after the family states that Justin violated the agreement made during the family team meeting. I don't blame Trista for this. She herself stated that she was unable to care for Ayla, and I think it was admirable of her to recognize that she wasn't properly equipped to care for Ayla at that time. What I'm confused about is whether or not this was a formal, written agreement, or what it actually was. Also, depending on what the agreement really was, I'm not sure how much DHHS was obligated to remain involved. In other words, if DHHS took custody of Ayla and then failed to keep her safe, then yes, I would hold them accountable. However, if Trista voluntarily agreed that Justin should care for Ayla, I'm not sure if DHHS would be under any obligation to monitor the situation. I guess we won't really know the answers unless someone produces some documentation. Regardless, in my mind anyway, the custody issue and Ayla's disappearance are two separate issues. JMO