It is a pretty safe bet that since DG was not in contact with CD (per her interview), she had not seen Sernity at least since Serenity was placed at BHCH. In order to see Serenity, DG would have either had to visit Serenity at BHCH or seen Serenity when she was on an out-of-center visit with CD. There are very strict guidelines as to who the child can see and contact. That is set by the parent/guardian and/or the DSS worker, if a child has one. The only exceptions would be: if a caller lies about their name and staff doesn't catch it; CD let's her see someone when Serenity is on an outing with him; or they run into someone they know on an out-of- center activity but even then, the person must be introduced to staff and the conversation is monitored by staff. I doubt BHCH's rules for that are much different from where I worked. I do believe they have a code system for calls so the person calling in has to know the code. I don't see how if Mr Colson, Executive Director of CHS, seemed shaken (insert whatever word DG used) by DG showing up at the home and announcing who she was, that DG was known to them. Then again, DG stated she was told Serenity had been talking about her. Again, conflicting info.
Regarding Lynne, I am torn because I do believe she is trying to keep awareness on Serenity and I don't see it as a political move. I do believe her heart is in the right place. She certainly didn't have to get involved. She has gotten backlash from the beginning if you read her page and watch her videos- she was told to stop talking about the case even early on, then came push from unnamed others, others, then CD and KD's family and friends contacted her and told her to stop, CD stopped communication then too. Then there was the huge uproar about the search. I think she also might be organizing a search to have it be an organized search. Random people have been searching this whole time with no documentation being filled out. Many keep contacting her about searching. Others said they were going out in small groups so then she set up this search. Yes, I understand even the best intentioned volunteers can tamper with or damage evidence. So many people have been up in arms about the lack of searching being done. I know it was stated in the media how bad the weather was, I know some SAR talked about it being a rough go in places, I also know the terrain can be dangerous but many locals have said they felt that more could have been done which fueled more frustrations. I clearly am not LE or SAR so I don't know but when you hear others say they are trained and could be out there or when you see all the cases with worse conditions in more dangerous areas, it makes people wonder. I can't believe it would be lack of equipment or training. All year round, people can get lost in the forest areas. In there warner months there is hiking, once there is enough snow, snowmobiling and cross country skiing are popular out there. I know they said there was no avalanche rescue dog teams available so maybe that limited what they could do too. Other SAR teams have been saying they never even got a call but would come out so that doesn't help people's frustrations. I guess to me, an organized search where people are showing ID and filling out forms is better than just random people going out to search at random times.
This case is difficult in that no one is really speaking. There's been no major push by some of the family to spread word far and wide on Social Media or national news. Like other posters have said, we got conflicting info and it was never really cleared up. I know confidentiality is big here which plays into this too. Clear updates would be helpful though. Then you have family and friends of CD upset with Lynne. I don't think DG's or RR's interview cleared much up. There is just speculation and rumors that also add to the mess.
If they believe she is in the woods, then I can kind of understand keeping quiet. To me though, I would push to get the info out there just in case there is more to this than Serenity running away and succumbing to the weather. I know it is likely that LE and even family know way more than we do but so much of this confuses me and I have followed a lot of cases, have education and training in this area. I just wish we had some answers. Maybe we will learn more after this search or the next one.
I do not think DG being at the search is a good idea. I think it will add drama since many seem to not be a fan of hers. Plus what if she finds her daughter like someone said. I understand she says wants Serenity found (not implying anything here but don't know how she feels so using her words) but not sure it will go well especially since she said in her interview people had already said harsh things to or about her. I do hope however searchers are on their best behavior and don't start drama with DG. It should be about Serenity, imo.
I understand why BHCH is remaining quiet, part confidentiality reasons, part ongoing investigations, other part likely told to lawyers because of the likelihood of a lawsuit. It is still frustrating though and I know how placements like that in this state work. I do not fault them for not allowing volunteers to use their parking lot nor for not allowing volunteers searching on their property. They have other children to consider. Strangers, even ER personnel like police, fire, etc can upset the kids. Visitors could be hassled or not have parking. They can't have predators wandering around either. Plus it would be an easy way for someone who isn't allowed to see a resident there to learn more about the property and maybe catch a glimpse of that child. Plus I am sure there are liability issues there too. I would imagine this has been hard on those residents and staff that were close to Serenity. Probably most of the staff otherwise too. Where I worked we all worried until the resident was found. I can't imagine it would be much different there. Yes, I know many think BHCH is a horrible place with horrible staff. I am not one of those, I definitely have questions and concerns. I know Children's Home Society as a whole has an excellent reputation and know people who worked at the SF home that said good things. Residents that came from there because they aged out also said good things. Locals say good things about BHCH. Not saying they are perfect, clearly something went very wrong here. Investigations and evaluations need to happen. It is likely too late for Serenity (still hoping for a miracle here) but it can make it safer for other kids. Regardless of everything they can attempt to explain, that 2 hour+ delay before 911 was called and the first LEO arrived was a huge mistake. Even if there is no set protocol of when to call 911 - per the press conference. Which was not my experience and they are licensed the same way my facility was. So unless it is there local or the ages of their residents, I don't understand the difference. Imo, the BHCH's location and their residents being 4-14, the risk is higher. Not that the kids, I worked with were safe but they were in a town, not a lot of dangerous terrain, and were 10-18. I do admit it has been a couple of years since I left PRTF though so maybe I am way off base.
Sorry for the book. Trying to combine multiple thoughts from posts and such.
All MOO