Dad fights for custody of girl, 13

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A Colorado man is baffled about why Nebraska would place his daughter with a foster family, rather than let him take custody of the girl while her mother tries to straighten out her life.

Army Sgt. David D. Sanders appeared Thursday in Douglas County Juvenile Court, hoping he would be allowed to leave with his 13-year-old daughter.

Sanders will return to Colorado on Friday, likely without the girl.

He said he was deployed to Afghanistan in July when he received an email from his daughter's best friend saying they couldn't locate his ex-wife.

Sanders began searching the Internet for Omaha-area hospitals in hopes of finding her. He said his ex-wife, who has had problems with alcohol, had checked into a facility for mental health treatment.

His motion seeking temporary custody of his daughter is being considered by Judge Christopher E. Kelly, who took the matter under advisement.

The girl was placed with an aunt for a time and is now living with her best friend's family.

Sanders, who has remarried, said his current wife and their three children have a good relationship with the 13-year-old girl.

"She should be placed with her biological parent unless he is shown to be unfit," said Sanders' attorney, Leslie Christensen. "Of course he is fit."

If Sanders lived in Nebraska, there would be no question he would be granted temporary custody, Christensen said.

Placing the girl in a foster home rather than with her own father, she said, shows "the system is broken."

A hearing is expected in the next 30 to 45 days. Kelly said he was worried about uprooting the girl and sending her to Colorado, only to have her possibly uprooted again and sent back to Omaha later.

The girl said at the hearing that she hopes to stay in Omaha and ultimately be reunited with her mother.

Sanders said his daughter feels she has to stay in Omaha to help her mother get well. He said a 13-year-old girl shouldn't be burdened with taking care of a parent.

"She should be focused on school and being a child," he said after the hearing. "What a 13-year-old child wants isn't always what's best for a 13-year-old."

Sanders, stationed in Fort Carson, Colo., and his ex-wife divorced in 2002. She was awarded sole custody of the girl, though Sanders was granted visitation rights.

His ex-wife has been arrested twice on suspicion of drunken driving. She pleaded guilty to DUI in April and was sentenced to six months of probation. She is due back in court Oct. 27 for a probation violation hearing.

The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services became involved when allegations were made about the girl's well-being and the amount of time she was left alone at home by her mother.

When the girl didn't show up for school in late August, Omaha police went to her home. According to court records, the girl's mother was there, but she was intoxicated and unable to say where her daughter was.

The mother later recalled that her daughter had gone camping with her ex-fiance and his teenage son at Linoma Beach.

She told police that her daughter doesn't like the ex-fiance. The man has served three separate prison terms on theft and drug convictions, according to court records.

Authorities also said the woman's home was found to be dirty and extremely cluttered.

She told investigators that her daughter stayed home most nights by herself. The mother said she didn't get home until between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m., sometimes going out after work.

The woman's attorney, Deborah Cunningham, said her client now has a regular daytime job that will allow her to be home with her daughter on nights and weekends. Cunningham said the woman is getting help for the problems that brought her before the court.

Sanders said he is thankful for the family caring for his daughter but believes she would receive better care living with him.

Contact the writer:

402-444-1279, jason.kuiper@owh.com

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