There is some good news today in the case of Melissa Busekros, about whom I posted on Right Reason last month.
Today is Melissa's 16th birthday. She acquires some unspecified and apparently not completely clear additional rights over her own custody at the age of sixteen and took this opportunity to leave the foster home where she was being held secretly at midnight. She walked and hitchhiked to her own home, arriving as a wonderful surprise for her parents at 3 a.m. All that I know of the new situation is found here. Melissa has a lawyer of her own and is planning to tell any police who show up that she refuses to return to foster care on the advice of her lawyer. This young lady excites my admiration by her courage and maturity.
What the upshot will be is apparently still unknown, as it seems that the authorities could still take her back into custody against her will. Also, if the authorities have marked this family out for trouble, they might still harass them regarding their younger children, though these children are in school.
But it has been a happier birthday for Melissa and for her parents than I could have hoped several weeks ago. Many happy returns of the day, Melissa!
HT Dale Hurd