A little over two years after a small girl went missing in Washington State, new court documents recently released detail the abuse she and her siblings endured at the hands of her biological mother.
The Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office sought records from the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) pertaining to the home lives of Oakley Carlson and her two siblings in the hopes of obtaining information that might help recover the girl.
Oakley was last seen alive at the age of 3 in February 2021 and investigators named her parents, Jordan Bowers and Andrew Carlson, as suspects in the girl’s disappearance. However, neither have been charged in connection with the, now 6-year old, Oakley’s disappearance.
Investigators stated, “Since 2013 the DCYF have received 11 intakes regarding the family. Eight of those reports were screened for domestic violence, physical abuse, parental drug use, and medical neglect.”
One of Oakley’s two siblings said, her sister was kept in a locked cell underneath the stairs. A different sibling told authorities the children were being physically abused by their mother.
The mother denied any of the claims and opposed Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office motions. She argued that the sheriff’s office didn’t have standing to access the juvenile court records and questioned how it would help in finding Oakley. Ultimately, an appeals court ruled the sheriff’s office did nothing wrong in requesting the documents.
Oakley was reported missing by a “concerned citizen” in December 2021. The court documents allege that when a school staff member visited the home asking about Oakley’s whereabouts and finding no sign of her, one of the girl’s siblings replied, “There is no Oakley.”
After conducting a welfare check at their Oakville home, the Grays Harbor Sheriff’s Office arrested Oakley’s parents, Bowers and Carlson.
Authorities have claimed the parents could not account for Oakley’s whereabouts and also could not provide any reasonable explanation for where she might be. Deputies placed Oakley’s other siblings in protective custody, the new documents state.
Apparently, back in 2021, one of Oakley’s siblings stated her mother Jordan told her not to talk about Oakley. The mother told the sibling that Oakley had gone out into the woods and was eaten by wolves.
Deputies initially took Oakley’s parents into custody on obstruction charges after they refused to cooperate with investigators. The pair were later charged with second-degree abandonment in connection to an alleged incident involving their other children.
However, those charges were eventually dropped, and both Bowers and Carlson were convicted in 2022 of two counts of child endangerment with a controlled substance for child abuse unrelated to Oakley’s disappearance.
Bowers was ordered to spend 20 months in prison due to her criminal history, while Carlson was sentenced to one year in prison. It’s unclear if Carlson has been released from custody since his sentencing in March 2022.
Shortly after Bowers’ release in January, she was arrested on identity theft charges in a separate case. She will spend 43 months in prison.
Meanwhile, no charges have been filed in connection with Oakley’s disappearance and suspected homicide.
The Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office has since offered a reward of $85,000 for information leading to Oakley’s whereabouts. Anyone with information on the case is asked to contact the sheriff’s office at (360)-964-1729.
If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
