GRAYS HARBOR COUNTY, Wash. — Editor's note: The above video originally aired Jan. 23, 2023.
The mother of a missing Grays Harbor County girl pleaded guilty Monday to charges unrelated to the disappearance of her daughter.
Jordan Bowers, the mother of Oakley Carlson, is charged with four counts of identity theft. Bowers changed her plea to guilty Monday as part of a plea deal. Bowers originally pleaded not guilty earlier this year.
Carlson has been missing for more than a year and had just turned five when detectives first opened her missing person's case in December 2021. Detectives say Bowers and Oakley's father Andrew Carlson have not been cooperative with authorities.
Detectives believe Oakley was last seen alive in February of 2021.
Both of her parents were charged and convicted on child endangerment charges for crimes related to their other children.
Investigators said the two children were exposed to methamphetamines and test results suggested the children may have ingested the meth.
Bowers was arrested in January just minutes after being released from prison following her sentence for child endangerment.
Detectives said Bowers fraudulently created four credit card accounts using personal information from friends and relatives.
Three of the cards were found clogging the toilet in a hotel room Bowers was staying in when police first started searching for Oakley in late 2021.
Bowers is accused of spending more than $40,000 with the cards, using the funds to shop at Walmart and eBay and getting cash to gamble at a casino.
Sentencing was set for Aug. 7.
Anyone with information on the case is asked to call the Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office at 360-964-1729.
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