A reward for missing Washington girl Oakley Carlson, who vanished over a year ago, has reached more than $85,000.
The reward has been raised in an effort to locate 6-year-old Oakley, who was reported missing on December 6, 2021, but hasn’t been physically seen since February 2021, Fox 13 Seattle reports. Oakley lived with foster parents until a week before she turned three; she was then returned to her birth family in Oakville. She disappeared soon after.
“I really am hopeful that more people will kind of hear about it and look into it and realize money does talk, if people know something, but they’ve been afraid to tell someone about it, it’s worth talking to someone about,” Oakley’s foster mom, Jamie Jo Hiles, told the outlet.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, neighbors of the birth family previously said they have not seen Oakley “in quite some time.” One person in the Oakville neighborhood said that it had been so long since Oakley was seen that the school bus eventually stopped coming to pick her up.
Oakley was reported missing after deputies arrived at her family’s home to perform a welfare check at the request of Oakville Elementary School Principal, Jessica Swift.
Swift said the first time she noticed something odd was when she brought supplies to Oakley’s parents in December 2021 following a house fire that destroyed many of their belongings.
“Jordan had let us know that there was a fire so I had gone out to check on them and offer support and drop off supplies from the school right after the fire,” Swift told News Nation.
“I saw all the other kids running around and playing and I didn’t see Oakley and I thought it was a little odd. I asked where she was and they told me that she was in her room in time out.”
Two weeks later, Swift returned to the home and, again, didn’t see Oakley. Later, Oakley’s 6-year-old sister went to Swift’s home for a playdate with Swift’s daughter, and that’s when Swift learned that Oakley had not been seen in a while.
“On a playdate with my daughter and Oakley’s sister, I asked questions about Oakley,” Swift told News Nation. “And it came out over the course of those questions that Oakley wasn’t living with them anymore. I can’t describe the feeling I had at that moment, sitting on that couch with that little girl when she said that.”
Swift said she immediately contacted Grays Harbor police and made a report. When police searched the home, they saw no sign of Oakley having ever been there. The birth parents have both denied knowing what happened to Oakley.
Police arrested Bowers and Carlson in December 2021 and initially charged them with manslaughter concerning Oakley’s disappearance. Those charges were dropped, citing a lack of evidence, but they were both charged with neglect in connection with Oakley’s sister.
Investigators interviewed the 6-year-old, who said her mother told her not to talk about Oakley. She eventually admitted she hadn’t seen her sister in a long time; she began crying when a detective asked her if Oakley was hurt.
“Her mother Jordan told her not to talk about Oakley and that she had gone out to be eaten by wolves,” a police report read.
When police questioned Bowers about Oakley’s disappearance, she allegedly became furious and refused to answer questions.
“She became enraged, yelling, clenching her fists, and refused to answer any further questions about the welfare or wellbeing of her daughter,” the report read.
Investigators would like to speak with anyone who has seen or spoken to Oakley since January 2021, as well as anyone who had direct contact with her parents during the same time period.
Meanwhile, the group “Justice for Oakley ” will hold a fundraiser on Friday at the Montesano Festival of Lights event.
Anyone with information on Oakley should call the sheriff’s office at (360) 533-8765. You can also contact Detective Sgt. Paul Logan at (360) 964-1729 or email sodetectives@co.grays-harbor.wa.us.
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[Feature Photo: Oakley Carlson via Light the Way]
