Posted on 05/15/2004 12:21:42 AM PDT by ValerieUSA
ROSEBURG, Ore. -- Police are investigating a man who allegedly tried to allow a Texas couple to adopt his 2-month-old daughter.
Authorities learned of the plot when the man who wanted to adopt the baby grew suspicious and called the Oregon State Police on Monday.
It is unclear whether any charges will be filed against Heath Leo Wilson, 32, who had recently moved to Canyonville from Texas, with his partner and three children.
Wilson met the Dallas couple through a mutual friend, who told him they were looking to adopt a child.
"On April 24th, we got a phone call, and (Wilson) said that he'd found this baby by the Dumpster at a truck stop," said Robert Paul Lewis, the Texas man who wanted to adopt the child with his wife.
Wilson allegedly told them that after finding the child, the state of Oregon had given him custody and permission to adopt out the baby.
"He told us he was dying of cancer, which we found that's not true, and he wanted to find this baby a good home before he died," Lewis said.
Wilson allegedly told the baby's mother he needed to take the baby with him while he returned to Dallas to finish moving their things, and he took the child against her wishes on May 7, according to state police Sgt. Mark Walkup.
The family gave him approximately $2,000 to help with various expenses, flying him and the baby out there to make arrangements for the adoption, Lewis said. They loaned him their car, and he even left the child with them over Mother's Day weekend, Lewis said.
"We got really attached to the baby," he said. "We just welcomed her into the family."
Lewis said he became suspicious when he tried to verify the names of the judge and attorney who had purportedly handled the baby's custody case, and found that they didn't exist.
Around 9 a.m. Monday, he called the Roseburg state police office, which subsequently reported the incident to the Dallas (Texas) Police Department. Dallas police and FBI agents found Wilson and the baby at a motel in Dallas.
Wilson was questioned and the child was taken into protective custody, authorities said.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.