Police have arrested a mother in Ohio on charges related to faking her daughter's illness for financial gain. In a case similar to Gypsy Rose Blanchard's, Pamela Reed, 41, of Pleasant City, reportedly claimed her daughter Addey Rae suffered from severe illness and bilked thousands of dollars from local businesses and friends that they thought was going to help pay for treatment. Her alleged scheme came to light after a school nurse became suspicious.
Reed reportedly began the alleged ruse when her daughter was just a toddler. The mother detailed her daughter's health journey on the Facebook page Our "Rae" Of Sunshine – Team Addey Rae and on her own Facebook page. Just two days before her arrest, she posted a lengthy message asking for cards to celebrate Addey's eighth birthday. Now, Reed is in jail on charges of theft by deception, and many want justice for the little girl who was seemingly robbed of her childhood.
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The toddler appeared to be gravely ill.
Reed began posting about Addey's health in October 2017, when the child was just 20 months old, per the New York Post. At first, Reed claimed on the Addey Rae Facebook page that her daughter suffered from severe aplastic anemia. Per her posts, the little girl spent months in the hospital and was often undergoing tests, scans, and blood draws. Reed posted photos of herself and her little girl and would ask for prayers and monetary support.
Reed collected thousands of dollars in donations.
Supporters reportedly gave the family donations for years through sites like GoFundMe and through fundraising events such as a hog roast advertised for October 2023. The mother also hosted card drives for her daughter for days like Christmas and her birthday to raise her spirits.
Throughout the journey, Reed posed vague updates with photos of Addey having blood tests, such as this one from November 2019:
"Miss Addie could use some prayers going into the next few weeks…..Pray we get some much needed answers! most importantly pray for her comfort, while our team of drs are trying there hardest to figure things out!"
In early January, she made a big plea.
Reed wrote on her personal Facebook page on January 6 that the family was preparing for their biggest fight.
"Our hearts are shattered with every single treatment, every single tear and every single night we have to explain, why her……because we don't have that answer…..I know there are so many in need of prayers, but if everyone could please add Addey, our family and our team to that list we would appreciate it greatly……Tuesday starts another 10 weeks of an even harder treatment and so many other medicines …….no child should have to fight this hard for anything, us as parents are the ones who handle all the hard stuff…..lately even I have been mad and questioning so much," she wrote on the page.
Friends came to support the family.
"I will continue praying for her and for your family I wish so much I could take her pain away I can't even begin to understand how hard it must be to watch her go through all this," one person wrote. "I'm so sorry Pam. Tell her that I said hi and I miss her sweet face. I'm always here if you ever need to talk."
Others offered to help. "Sending prayers as always! What's her favorite toys these days?" another commenter asked.
Her ruse was seemingly convincing to many people.
She was so convincing that Reed's other daughter even thought her sister "had cancer and was severely ill," per court records obtained by the Post.
But a school nurse was not convinced. Reed reportedly gave numerous false documents to the school outlining her daughter's cancer battle, including information that the child was blind in one eye.
The nurse realized that was not the case and called Addey's doctor, who told her the child "did not have cancer or leukemia, and she never had cancer or leukemia," court documents stated.
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That revelation led to the mother's arrest.
Police began investigating Reed after receiving a tip on January 4 and found the child did not have cancer, per a Facebook post from the Noble County Sheriff's Office.
"They also confirmed that one local organization had donated approximately $8,000.00 to the family to aid in the cancer treatment expenses," the post reads.
Reed was ultimately arrested on January 8 when she reportedly confessed to exaggerating her daughter's health conditions and taking money for treatment. She was charged with theft by deception and was being held on a $50,000 bond.
