A 3-year-old girl was found and returned to her family after going missing in July 2024. The toddler was taken by her mother during a custody dispute between her parents. As a result of the custody battle, the mother reportedly took her daughter out of the country to keep her away from her father.
Since July, the father and his family have been searching for the girl. She and her mother were found in Panama in December, and US Marshals accompanied them back to Texas. Upon their return, the mother was arrested, and is currently under house arrest.
More from CafeMom: Police Discover 1-Year-Old Has Been Missing for Months After His Family Was in Fatal Car Crash
The girl was missing since July.
Rilee Crouch, a 3-year-old girl from South Padre Island, Texas, went missing in July 2024, Leslie Blasing, a family spokesperson, told KRGV. Blasing told the outlet that the toddler and her mother, Lilian Maria Crouch, were found in Panama. US Marshals have now reportedly brought the mother and daughter back to Harlingen, Texas.
The parents had been in a custody battle.
ValleyCentral reported that Lilian Crouch and Rilee’s father, Dakota Crouch, were allegedly in a custody battle over the girl. Dakota Crouch returned Rilee to her mother’s home on July 2. Two days later, when he went to pick the girl up from her mother, they were both gone.
According to Cyndee Bailey, the child’s paternal grandmother, Lilian Crouch had allegedly kidnapped her daughter and was trying to take her to Turkey.
Rilee is back in her father's care, and her mother has been arrested.
South Padre Island police spokesperson Angelique Soto told KRGV that the girl was released into the custody of her father upon her return to the US. Upon arrival in Texas, Lilian Crouch was in the custody of the South Padre Island Police Department, and held on a warrant for interference with child custody.
More from CafeMom: Parents Lost Custody of Their Baby When She Was 6 Weeks Old Because of a Misdiagnosis
The girl's mother has already been charged.
Lilian Crouch was arraigned on December 30. According to ValleyCentral, the mother was charged with interference with child custody and contempt of court. Currently, she is being held on a $100,000 bond. During arraignment, it was revealed that Panama wasn’t the only country Lilian Crouch took the girl to. In addition to Panama, they had been in Turkey, Mexico, and Guatemala.
Lilian Crouch has had her passport revoked under the conditions of her bond. Additionally, she will not be allowed to leave Cameron County — she is being placed under house arrest and required to wear an electronic monitoring device.
The family is raising funds.
Shortly after the girl went missing, the Crouch family started a GoFundMe to raise funds to help locate her. After she was found, they shared an update saying, “Turkish customs recognized fake Panamanian passports and entrance was not allowed.” With no passports, the girl and her mother went back to Panama City, where US Marshals retrieved them.
In a previous edit of the fundraiser, the family called the ongoing search for Rilee a “nightmare,” People reported.
