{"id":34024,"date":"2022-06-07T03:27:37","date_gmt":"2022-06-07T08:27:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/missing-a-baby-and-legal-woes-plague-the-courts\/"},"modified":"2022-06-07T03:27:38","modified_gmt":"2022-06-07T08:27:38","slug":"missing-a-baby-and-legal-woes-plague-the-courts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/missing-a-baby-and-legal-woes-plague-the-courts\/","title":{"rendered":"Missing a baby, and legal woes plague the courts"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Missing a baby, and legal woes plague the courts<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Joseph Budd<\/strong><\/p>\n

Native Sun News Today Staff Writer<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Imagine just having a baby, then having your child turn up missing. For young mother Lassandra Hoof, from Pine Ridge, this scene played out earlier this year when two-day old baby was taken by the father without consent, who then left the reservation. Lassandra quickly reported the event to authorities, filed for emergency child custody and temporary emergency placement of the baby, which the Oglala Sioux Tribal Court granted her on May 2. On May 24, the court granted her permanent guardianship over her baby, named Joann.<\/p>\n

However, her baby is still missing, and is listed as missing on the Attorney General\u2019s missing persons list. Likewise, Hoof\u00a0 hasn\u2019t had much luck getting help from the OST Police Department. The department provided the missing person information to the South Dakota Attorney General\u2019s office, and are listed as the agency in charge of the case, according to Chief of Staff Tim Bormann.<\/p>\n

According to Hoof, she was told until custody was established, law enforcement could do nothing. The FBI also could not confirm if they are looking into the case.<\/p>\n

Barajas, who is listed as the father of the child, has had his name and vehicle listed in the National Crime Information Center database, but there aren\u201dt any charges listed. To that end, Tribal law enforcement aren\u2019t able to arrest a non-native person who isn\u2019t on the reservation, and Hoof believes that Barajas took the baby out of state.<\/p>\n

A noted Rapid City lawyer, Kyle Krause, shed some light on this, stating, \u201cIt\u2019s basically a free-for-all until somebody gets a court order. He can grab the kid and run wherever he wants, at least within the country, and hasn\u2019t violated any laws.\u201d<\/p>\n

Krause did mention that states are required to honor tribal court rulings under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act. To have this Act help Hoof, she would need to file a motion or petition to have that recognized in state court.<\/p>\n

As it stands, Hoof and Barajas are still married, but the relationship was short-lived. As Barajas lived out of state, she didn\u2019t take it seriously until he visited South Dakota. From there, the couple went back to Texas to visit, and were married in August 2021. About a month after she discovered she was pregnant, the relationship soured, with issues of abuse being noted in tribal court when Hoof sought custody of Joann. Despite the strain, Barajas did attend the birth, while Hoof also felt the child would be better off with two parents.<\/p>\n

However, two days after being discharged from the hospital, Hoof went to the Prairie Winds Hotel with the baby, her two other children and other members of her family. After dinner, Hoof\u2019s father went to the casino, and she stayed in a hotel room with her kids. After going out to her father\u2019s truck to get her hospital bag, Hoof returned to find Joann, Barajas and his army duffle bag gone.<\/p>\n

According to Hoof, Barajas, who was on leave from deployment for the baby\u2019s birth, returned overseas after giving the baby to a member of his family, with whom Hoof has spent little time.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been told I seem well put together, that I\u2019m holding it together and stuff, but no. It\u2019s been hard,\u201d Hoof said. \u201cI haven\u2019t been able to sleep a lot because I miss her. That\u2019s my baby. I didn\u2019t get to sit with her and bond with her or anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoof is hoping that this will cause a change in the law, regarding parental custody.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think something or a law needs to be made about this because other parents ae gonna see this, and think that, \u2018Hey, I could go and kidnap my kid and then nothing\u2019s gonna happen,\u2019 no charges are going to be pressed or anything like that. Law enforcement is not going to get involved. It\u2019s going to be me and that person.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The post Missing a baby, and legal woes plague the courts<\/a> first appeared on Native Sun News Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Visit Original Source<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

<\/span><\/div>

Missing a baby, and legal woes plague the courts By Joseph Budd Native Sun News Today Staff Writer \u00a0 Imagine just having a baby, then having your child turn up missing. For young mother Lassandra Hoof, from Pine Ridge, this scene played out earlier this year when two-day old baby <\/p>\n

Read More<\/a>
Shared by Native Sun News Today<\/a> June 7, 2022<\/p>\n

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