Copyright irishmirror
A five year old girl from Washington in the US who vanished in 2021 has now, four years on, been declared legally dead. This follows a police investigation into the parents of Oakley Carlson after her disappearance. At just five, Oakley was reported missing from her home in Oakville, Washington, in December 2021, and the police have never managed to locate her. Little Oakley was tragically declared as legally deceased in Pacific County Superior Court after her remaining siblings lodged a petition through their legal representatives, as reported by The Olympian . The decision came years after Carlson was reported missing in Greys Harbour County whilst under the care and custody of her parents. Both her father and mother, Andrew Carlson and Jordan Bowers, were promptly identified as persons of interest and taken into custody. It was believed at the time the parents did not know the whereabouts of their child, and they were unable to provide an explanation as to where she might be. However, it was reported Oakley had previously lived with foster parents before being reunited with her biological parents a few years earlier. Court documents reveal Oakley's sister was overheard at school telling another child "Oakley is no more" and "there is no Oakley". She also allegedly told officers investigating the case that her mother had 'forbidden' her to speak about her missing sister. She alleged she was told her sister had "gone out into the woods and had been eaten by wolves", which further aroused suspicion towards her parents. Court documents later suggested Oakley had allegedly endured abuse at the hands of her parents. One of her two siblings claimed their little sister had been 'locked in a cell' beneath the stairs, while another accused the mother of physical abuse, according to People . In 2022, both parents were found guilty of child endangerment with a controlled substance in an entirely separate case not related to Oakley's disappearance but involving their two other children. Subsequently, after Bowers was released, she was re-arrested on charges of identity theft, according to reports. Despite all this, Oakley's body has yet to be found and her location remains unknown. However, state law stipulates that a person can be declared dead by clear and convincing evidence, even without a body.The petition to declare Oakley legally deceased states: "There is no circumstance in which Oakley could still be alive after having not been seen in over four years and having last been seen at only 5 years old. "There is no suspicion that she has been kidnapped, and law enforcement suspects that Bowers and Carlson are to blame for her disappearance. There is no other explanation as to why this young girl could not be located in over four years, and it is because she is, sadly, deceased," as reported by The Olympian.
