Oakley Carlson went missing from Grays Harbor, Washington, sometime in 2021, but deputies aren’t entirely sure when it happened. The image at left shows her age progressed to 6. (Images at left: National Center for Missing and Exploited Children: image at right: Grays Harbor Sheriff’s Office)
A young girl — now missing and presumed dead — had been locked in a cell underneath the stairs and physically abused, her older half-brother told investigators, according to a related court ruling.
Oakley Carlson would now be 6, but she was 4 years old at her last credible sighting, previously described by authorities as being on Feb. 10, 2021. Deputies in Grays Harbor County, Washington, had trouble even finding a recent picture of her, and they had to resort to using ones when she was younger. Investigators fear she is dead and suspect her parents, Jordan Bowers and Andrew Carlson, of having something to do with it.
The cell detail emerged in an Aug. 1 ruling from the Court of Appeals in the State of Washington. The Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office sought dependency and juvenile court records on Oakley and two of her siblings, identified in documents as “BB-P” and “DC.” They hoped that these might include details that would help them find the missing girl.
The juvenile court granted their emergency motions, but one person stood in the way: Bowers, who appealed the ruling.
“The mother argues that the sheriff’s office lacked standing to request access to the records and that the juvenile court erred when it granted the motions,” the ruling stated.
Ultimately, the appeals court determined that the juvenile court did nothing wrong in ordering the documents released to the sheriff’s office.
It is unclear if deputies found anything in these records that might help find Oakley, but the ruling notes disturbing details about the child’s home life.
BB-P additionally reported that the mother physically abused [Oakley] and [a third sibling identified as JC] and that [Oakley] was kept in a locked “cell” underneath the stairs. CP (OC) at 3. DC confirmed BB-P’s statements regarding the mother’s physical abuse of OC. DC further stated that [Oakley] and JC were not safe in the mother’s care.
Deputies said school staff reported Oakley missing on Dec. 6, 2021, after visiting the family home and finding no sign of her.
Investigators also accused the couple of failing to give necessary medication to her sister DC, then 6.
“The medicine has been withheld for approximately 15 months,” authorities wrote. “The medication is necessary for her physical wellbeing and puts her at risk for physical impairment and could eventually result in death.”
Prosecutors dropped the charge of abandonment of a dependent person in the second degree. In exchange, the mother and father received plea deals for two counts of child endangerment with a controlled substance regarding exposing DC and JC to meth. Andrew Carlson received a year in prison; Bowers has to spend 20 months in prison because of her prior criminal record.
Deputies believe Jordan Bowers and Andrew Carlson have something to do with their daughter Oakley Carlson going missing. (Images: Grays Harbor Sheriff’s Office)
The mother showed up again to court last month for a separate incident where she took a plea deal in an identity theft case and was sentenced to three years in prison.
Neither parent has faced charges in Oakley’s disappearance.
“I’m frustrated and disappointed,” Jamie Jo Hiles, who previously cared for Oakley as her foster mother, told KCPQ regarding the identity theft plea deal. “I feel that the one sense of justice I might have seen Jordan face has been taken away because of this plea deal with the prosecutor.”
The biological parents initially claimed Oakley was with her paternal grandfather, but the grandfather said he had not seen her since Christmas 2020, according to the appeals court ruling. Jordan Brewer and Andrew Carlson later allegedly told police they “lost track” of Oakley in late November 2021; they claimed she had started a fire at their home that month. The father said he filed a formal missing person report in early December 2021.
From deputies:
If you have any information regarding the Oakley Carlson investigation please contact the Grays Harbor Sheriff’s Office, at (360) 964-1729. You can also email [email protected].
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
Oakley Carlson locked in ‘cell’ under stairs: Documents