Found Safe SC - Josie, 15 & Saylor Mulholland, 11 Mos., Murphy Village, 9 Sept 2016

On Sept. 9, Aiken County began a joint investigation with the South Carolina Department of Social Services into the wellbeing of Josie and Saylor Mulholland. The two girls were supposed to be surrendered by their parents but never were. They are considered wards of the state.

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*Josie also uses the last name O'Hara.
*Josie is 5' and 100 lbs. with brown hair
*Saylor is Josie's daughter

http://www.wbtv.com/story/33317793/15-year-old-and-infant-daughter-missing-from-murphy-village

Wow, this is scary! So young to be missing, and with a baby, I hope they're found safe!

http://www.aikenstandard.com/201610...ocating-missing-juveniles-from-murphy-village
Interesting background, her family is part of an Irish travelling group?

Spomraning said:

http://www.aikenstandard.com/201610...ocating-missing-juveniles-from-murphy-village
Interesting background, her family is part of an Irish travelling group?

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"Mary Jean Sherlock, the girls’ grandmother and great-grandmother, said by phone on Tuesday night both girls are in her custody, safe and not in harm’s way."

SouthernMom said:

"Mary Jean Sherlock, the girls’ grandmother and great-grandmother, said by phone on Tuesday night both girls are in her custody, safe and not in harm’s way."

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I believe the family knows where they are but the state has investigated and made the girls "wards of the state". That could mean anything from evidence of abuse at home to their parents not being alive. This is a really hard subject because the community claims there is no abuse and DSS is targeting them. But there is a 15 year old with an 11 month old baby. Depending on when her birthday falls, she could have been pregnant at 13.

The article above touches more on the history/controversy between the community and DSS:

Last month, DSS took custody of six young girls from the Murphy Village area due to reports of sexual abuse. One child has since been returned to her family.


Residents of the Murphy Village community, one of the largest communities in the nation of Irish Travelers, say the state agency is targeting them because of their long tradition of arranged marriages. Some have also said DSS is misleading law enforcement.

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http://www.aikenstandard.com/201610...ocating-missing-juveniles-from-murphy-village

News 12 NBC 26 / Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2016

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) -- Nineteen Irish travelers out of Murphy Village were arraigned on not guilty pleas in a federal courthouse in Columbia Tuesday morning.

It was the first look at 19 of the people connected to this case. Three were not present. Many of them covered their faces as they left the federal courthouse in Columbia.

Defense attorney Jack Swerling says many in the group had no idea this was coming. He represents RMM.

"They're upset. They didn't know this was coming, and they're going to have to face it," Swerling said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim May is prosecuting the case. The indictment claims they're running a criminal organization of fraud out of North Augusta's Murphy Village. Tuesday's hearing is the first step in what's going to be a very complicated and paper-heavy case.

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Wonder if it is any relation to this missing girl and that's why she is a ward of the state.

http://www.wrdw.com/content/news/Ni...g-fraud-enter-not-guilty-pleas-391759251.html

Hope32 said:

Wonder if it is any relation to this missing girl and that's why she is a ward of the state.

http://www.wrdw.com/content/news/Ni...g-fraud-enter-not-guilty-pleas-391759251.html

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If she's from Murphy Village, I would not doubt it.
I've been past Murphy Village several times as my in laws live near there. The houses are absolutely gorgeous. My in laws told me about the fraud case the first time we went past there. It's pretty much 2 neighborhoods across the highway from each other and they're both huge. People that live near them pretty much know that even though the area looks like beautiful, upper class neighborhoods, they are to be avoided. MOO from what I've been told by my in laws. I have sent the link to this forum to my wonderful MIL and I hope she'll register and chime in.

It's not exactly what I would call an Irish travelling group. They are Irish Travelers who are known for the men traveling to different states and going door-to-door offering to do construction type jobs (paving driveways, roofing, etc.). They were featured on Dateline NBC years ago. I doubt the latest fraud arrests of several Travelers has anything to do with the missing girl and her baby. The Travelers have been involved in multiple court cases over the years. An online search of Irish Travelers will yield much information about them, I'm sure.

I used to live in Augusta, just over the state line from North Augusta SC where this group is located. Yes, they do build some very beautiful homes for their baby daughters to live in when they marry. When I lived there, most of the giant homes were empty with uncut grass and weeds high in the yards. The family themselves often lived in small, older model mobile homes nearby. There's lots of information regarding them.

Now, back to what's important. Where are Josie and Saylor?

It sounds like arranged marriages within this society have something to do with the states involvment in this. Wonder who the father of the baby is? Maybe likely another reason.

doodles1211 said:

It sounds like arranged marriages within this society have something to do with the states involvment in this. Wonder who the father of the baby is? Maybe likely another reason.

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Located and in DSS custody: http://www.aikenstandard.com/news/t...cle_7d1a28ac-d913-11e6-a0c6-0f8ad3199b9b.html