SEATTLE — The father of a 5-year-old girl who was taken by her mother during a supervised visit in Seattle on Sunday said it “feels amazing” to have his daughter back home safe.
During a press conference Thursday morning, Demetre Wilkins thanked Seattle police, the media and the public for getting the word out about his daughter Sky Sanchez and helping her get home “unharmed and unscathed.”
“Without you guys, [getting my daughter back] was impossible, and in the matter of time and haste that things have occurred and taken place, I’m filled with exuberance, joy and relief to have my daughter back home,” Wilkins said.
Wilkins said he and his family are “deeply and wholeheartedly” appreciative of the support from the city and everybody who shared the story on social media and advocated for him as a father.
The 5-year-old was reunited with her father around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday after she was taken by her mother during a supervised visit Sunday morning.
The Seattle Police Department said Thursday morning that the mother was booked into the King County Jail for first-degree custodial interference and violation of a domestic violence court order. Bail was set at $50,000.
Wilkins said his daughter was taken after he brought her to At Indaba, a supervised child visitation center, in Seattle where she had a planned visit with her mother.
Wilkins was granted full custody of Sanchez in May, and the parenting plan issued by the court permitted supervised visitation.
Wilkins said two hours into the four-hour visit, he got a call from an employee with At Indaba who said the mother had run out of the building with the 5-year-old.
According to a statement of probable cause, a supervisor was escorting the mother to a water fountain at the end of the visitation when the mother ran from the building holding the child. The supervisor ran after the mother, but when they got outside they could not find the mother or child.
Wilkins said this was not the first time the 5-year-old's mother disappeared with their daughter. After being granted full custody in May, Wilkins said it took four months to locate his daughter.
The court-issued parenting plan said the girl's mother uses conflict in a way that may cause serious damage to the 5-year-old’s psychological development. The document also said during supervised visits, "the supervisor shall take extra precautions to ensure that the mother is not able to flee with the child."
Wilkins argued the facility did not have proper security, including cameras.
Indaba did not immediately respond to KING 5's request for comment.
Wilkins’ attorney Erica Knauf Santos said Thursday that she believed the courts went through the process they needed to go through to protect the 5-year-old.
However, Knauf Santos added that "when you have a mother that’s willing to do what [the 5-year-old's mother is] willing to do, I think when the court places court orders out there and makes specific restrictions in court orders, those that are entrusted to care for a child or to oversee those need to ensure that court orders are followed."
Knauf Santos said Wilkins was concerned about what will happen if the 5-year-old’s mother is released from jail, and what will happen “to the individual who we believe was assisting her that day if that individual is not prosecuted.”
Knauf Santos also said she believed there should be regulations for supervised visits for parents who may be flight risks.
“We cannot have individuals, parents defying court orders and taking matters into their own hands,” Knauf Santos said.
When asked why an AMBER Alert was not issued Sunday, Knauf Santos said there are certain regulations and things that need to be known to issue those alerts, and those details were not known at the time.
“At the time the child was taken, no one was able to say what direction she went, what car she got into, who else besides the mother she was with,” explained Knauf Santos. “So, it hindered the law enforcement from being able to issue that AMBER Alert.
Knauf Santos said if there had been security cameras, “we could have at least had the make and model of a vehicle that we could’ve put out.”