You got that RIGHT! NO CHANCE OF PAROLE!

You may have to pray for that for eight years like the parent did..

They dropped the case after two years, they didnt care then why would they care now.

Lusitania-- Didn't the police give up after 2 years of searching? not the courts. Anyway take her and its boyfriend and lose them

eeeeeeeeee

What a nightmare! She kidnapped the boy and then neglected him. We can only imagine what that little boy has been through.

I hope they lock up the babysitter and throw away the key. But look what happened with Casey Anthony.

Geeeeze.... What' no one thought of hiring a privat investigator just to see if that Tanner had a "new kid that appeared out of no-where"??? What kind of investigating did the cops DO for 2-years???

All someone had to do was to show up at 2:am with a search warrent and look for a little kid...

What does Casey Anthony have to do with a kidnapping case? Yeah, she's guilty as all get out, but blame the prosecutors who didn't do their job. The jurors look at all the evidence presented to them and guess what? The defense did their jobs. The prosecutor let down Little Caylee, not the jurors.

Stay focused on the topic kaybeetoys.

I'm glad this little boy will be reunited with his mom at last, things could've easily turned out much differently.

I just don't understand why she would have taken him. How cruel to snatch a baby from it's mother. Glad to hear the boy is heading home.

It's nice to see some good news once in a while. I can't imagine my child being kidnapped and cannot fathom what this mother has gone through all these years.

A nice happy ending. I'm sure Mom never lost hope. I don't think I ever would.

What is wrong with this story? The author forgot to include comments about other kidnappings across the country that had no relevance to this story, e.g. Elizabeth Smart, etc.

Despicable. Takes the baby, only to neglect him now? Throw the book at her--and neglect her cries for food and care when she's there, see how she likes it.

Parents like her make me want to scream... *ugh!*

lock her cell & throw the keys away !!!.......

Well, you could read the next two sentences and it tells you...

Derrr-- read!

One of her relatives led authorities to the boy, the AP reported.

One of her relatives led authorities to the boy, the AP reported. <- Its in the article how they found him

I swear I did not see that! Thanks... I think I need a good night's sleep.

If the relatives knew where the kid was, then they probably knew where he was back in 2004. You have to believe they knew of the kid and they also had knowledge that the kid was not hers way back when. I am guessing they gave the kid up as a plea bargain so they wouldn't go to jail for hiding the kid out from 2004-2006.

Maybe she fed her family some lie about how the baby became hers. Or you know there are those cases where a woman "didn't know she was pregnant" and goes to the hospital complaining of stomach pain & gives birth, maybe she fed them that story. Who really knows until that comes out, but if they knew she stole him then they should all be punished in some way for keeping that secret.

The writing does need work.

Tragic details, thanks for telling us. Is this mother income or minority per chance? sometimes overall it seems like such cases can be taken less seriously than Middle class White kids. I see the mother has an ethnic-sounding name. Trying not to be suspicious that someone didn't give a sh-t as much as they should...

(I'm middle class White myself)

So true Laurali, seems like if it would have been a white baby that was kidnapped, there would have been more of an effort. Especially if they were pretty sure it was Tanner the whole time. Thank God she got her son back though, I can't imagine what she went through, not knowing if he was okay.

I also didn't realize that a failed investigation for a missing child could result in a closed case. In this situation, the suspect was clearly identified, and her disappearance certainly made it appear as if the child had been abducted and was alive. Keeping tabs on the family would, most likely, have led to her location. This family was seriously let down by the authorities, and it will suffer for many years to come because of it. Shame on them! I'm sure those who were investigating the situation would have been more diligent if it had been one of their own family members who had been abducted.

The authorities looked for Natalie Hollaway for 5 years and she went missing in another country, but they can only stand to look for a baby for 2 years who was taken in one of the largest cities in the U.S.?? Something needs to be done with the way we treat missing black children cases, and the way they are being handled.

Why does race always have to brought into a situation. A child is a child, is a child, is a child! Black, White, Red, Green or Purple! Loving/caring for a child has no boundries. A "white" can abuse as well as a "black" and "black" can love as well as a "white". Stop making problems where there aren't any!!!!!

If I was an investigator, I'd only look for white kids.

Me stating that is as stupid as the statements I just read. Do you know what color the detectives were or the CPS workers? I doubt it.

rekoop, they are only stating reality. Ignoring reality doesn't change it.

Its people like Sheri-78 who perpetuate this issue. Who are "they"? And who is the determiner of "reality" You? Keep picking at the scab honey! With attitudes like yours the issue will never go away only grow. Shame on you for being a part of the problem instead of the solution. These are CHILDREN for goodness sake - like it or not, even for a racist such as you!

People never cease to amaze me. One person states that the case was "closed" and that is the reason the CMEC removed the child from the list and many others accept it as fact. Neither of those statements are accurate. Because a case goes "cold" does not mean that it is closed. It means that there is less attention being given to it. The CMEC retains names in their databases until there is positive resolution regarding the child. Positive resloution does not mean positive outcome; it means the child has been located (dead or alive), removed it from the unsuitable conditions, etc.

If you people want more accuracy in reporting you need to read reports from other news agencies. BSNBC purposefully slants the stories for whatever liberal agendas they have.

Yes, the birth mother and the kidnapper are minorities. But after being unable to find the kidnapper for two years the case "went cold" - not closed.

As for the Nataliee Hollaway story - it had little to do with the police following leads as it did with her MOTHER keeping the story alive. Beth is the one that kept it in the media spotlight. Race was not relevant to the issue; unless you are insinuating that minorities care less for their children (which I do not agree).

People who are against frivolous lawsuits are usually the first to encourage one.

rekoop, While you may not care about a persons skin color, the fact is that kidnappings of anybody who isn't white often get pushed to the wayside.

Its a sad, but truthful fact. I'm a white girl and I can say with a certainty that I hear about more white kids going missing etc etc than I ever do of black kids going missing.

However, on the flip side of that argument, I hear more about black gang violence than I do about white gang violence. Which, if I were uneducated, would lead me to believe that only blacks were involved in gangs. LIES!

The media only addresses the issues that the "majority" of people care about. Thats what gets their ratings.

CAT_Thomas,

CLOSED, may have been the writers terms, it just may have been 'Cold Cased', but still open...

It is absolutely true that missing minority children are not given the same media attention. Why does that make her racist for pointing that out? You should be OUTRAGED if you are not a racist, don't just pretend it doesn't happen to keep from opening "old wounds". Sheesh

http://www.npr.org/2012/02/24/147327515/tv-show-publicizes-missing-persons-of-color

Perhaps some of you can tell the rest of us how a missing infant case gets "closed" or otherwise gets forgotten if race has no bearing? Who made the decision not to actively persue the kidnapper in this case? Simply because relatives told investigators she "disappeared" that was enough to stop looking? She was in Texas the whole damn time! This is outrageous...

Yeah, they are "cute" when they are babies....LOL!

Glad there was a HAPPY ENDING!

I too am glad there's a 'happy ending', but what concerns me that there is a lot of work for this family to do, so it's not an ending at all. This boy was kidnapped by a woman who was being looked at for child neglect issues so I can only assume this young boy was not brought up in a loving, nurturing way. This kidnapper has had 8 years to write negatively on the empty slate of this young boy's psyche. I hope there is help for them all to assimilate him back into his real family and start to undo any damage that might have happened the last 8 years. I wish them all the best.

True!

Stories like these make me wish we could bring back "cruel and unusual" punishment.

I totally agree! But cruel and unusual punishment would not be enough......I say tie her to a stump in a Louisiana Swamp and let mother nature take care of her!

Let's not forget that the child was only 8 months old when he was kidnapped. This child was raised for 8 years thinking Tanner was his mother. Now this child has to go through the realization that he actually has a different mother. Poor kid. It's so sad that people are selfish enough (or just don't care) to not think of how things effect others.

I agree wholehardedly. For 8 long years this little boy thought Tanner was his mother. Now his whole life, as he knew it, has been turned upsidedown. To him, it probably feels like he's being packed up and forced to live with strangers, with no real comprehension of what is happening to him. I hope his new real family sees to it that he gets all the help he might need to understand what has happened to him. So sad.

Maybe, but he MAY have had to go to a foster home, if Tanner was guilty of child neglect so this would be a better scenario!

True, but it will probably feel like a foster home, at first. And, being surrounded with love should help, but sometimes it's not enough. I just hope it will continue to be a happy ending.

U got that right

Yea, did you also notice it was a black lady who kidnapped him? Do you know the race of the investigators? I doubt it but I bet they were of mixed race. The race card is so tiring. please grow up.

Atta girl liz. BSNBC should be sending you a race-baiting reward.

Thinker,

Do you read and comment on this website JUST to say "BSNBC" as many times as possible and complain about your perception of liberalism here?

Super-tired!

liz & rkb,

Bet the word 'CLOSED', was writers terms... Bet it was 'Cold Cased', like all are with no new evidence, regardless of 'RACE'... Sounds like you are the one with a 'Race Problem'...

PM - No I don't just comment to fellow bloggers on this site. I have also commented to BSNBC. In the past couple of weeks they have "popped up" with a survey about the quality of the site and whether I would recommend it to others and why or why or why not.

However, there is a difference between liberalism and racism.

Totally agreed!! They couldn't have cared less! Makes you wonder how many other missing children are out there that could be found if the right authorities actually TRIED!! Ugh makes me sick.

In this particular case it seems the investigators royally screwed up! However, we need to keep in mind that not all police investigators are like that. Most have extremely high case loads yet diilgently search long and hard often at the expense of their own family life. Police officers have a very high divorce rate. That comes from long hours seeing all kinds of brutality. OFten they invest so much time in their cases they have none left for their spouses, children, family and friends. The dedicated officers that sacrific so much need to be applauded and appreciated. The ones that drop the ball need to move on to another line of work.

It will be a tough road for the family adjusting to the changes that are coming to all their lives. Wish them well. The mom should demand an investigation into why the investigators closed this case. Had they stayed on it and missing childrens agencies still had it as an open case it wouldn't likely have taken such a long time to be resolved.

Hey Sally... I was an EMT in a city for a few years... I can tell you about the scum dems letting their kids live in filth.... and worse ... outside the womb....

John, seriously, abusers come in all shapes and sizes, age, race, economic background and political affiliation. There was absolutely no reason to interject politics into your comment. Especially since it's a load of crap that dems are the only ones that neglect and abuse children. Get real and get over yourself!

They only care about kids when they are in the womb,...

Sally - A little insight for you might settle your hatred. There are no "kids" in the womb. They are classified as embryos. Kids are external to wombs.

But to the real point: Just what is it that triggers a person to instantaneously quit caring upon birth?

Just playing devil's advocate, straight adoption is way too expensive. Fostering is the cheapest and most practical way financially.

From an interview I saw on CNN last night in which the mother was interviewed, it was stated that at the time of the kidnapping, the mother who was only 20 years old at the time already had 5 kids all under the age of 4 and was pregnant with the 6th. When she called the police, they sided with the mother of the kidnapper who denied everything and the cops didn't believe the mother. She offered to take a polygraph test, but the police wouldn't let her because of her pregnancy and when asked if she demanded one after she had the baby, she said the cops didn't offer her one and she didn't pursue it. Was she blown off because of her circumstances? Absolutely. Apparently the kidnapper and her family didn't seem to think she would miss one child with as many as children as she had. Should family members such as the mother who denied & protected the kidnapper be charged? Absolutely. Regardless of this young woman's circumstances, my heart goes out to her, nobody should ever have to go through this.

Typical! Blame the mother, because of her circumstances!

If you had read the entire comment, I am not blaming the mother. It is just the opposite, I am blaming the police department and the family of the kidnapper. I think that the mother's circumstances caused the police to look down on her, not take her seriously and in the end that opinion effected any efforts to help her. What she went through thanks to their lack of concern is inexcusable. Next time read the entire comment before judging.

Dust,

You misunderstood my comment, I was in AGREEMENT with YOU! The police Looked at the mom's situation, 20 years old, 5 kids, one more on way, and, basically "blamed" her. I DID read your entire comment!

My apologies Jo-An,

I interpreted it as if you were accusing me of blaming the mother, not agreeing with me. Guess I should look at things in the positive instead of the negative, such an emotionally charged issue that I read it with my heart not my head. Again, my apologies.

:) no prob!

Because of the mothers circumstances it wouldn't surprise me one bit if they investigated her before returning her child. At her young age with so many kids they could try and say she had been neglectful and partially responsible for what happened. Often child welfare goes way to easy on some of the worst cases and in others try to make a mountain out of a molehill of a case even manufacturing problems if it comes to it. Have seen it done to my Neice last year right before christmas! Thankfully it all worked out but not without putting her entire family thru hell before finally butting out weeks too late as they had no case. Some inexperienced young case worker claimed she was doing her job. If an experienced worker had been on my neices' case 6 weeks of hell would have been avoided.

WOW! You are confused. You state that the authorities should have done all they could to determine the rightful parents get the child back. But now you say that the authorities should not bother determining righhtful parentage (through DNA testing) but just give the child to a mother with a documented missing child.

Because the authorites may have subverted their processes they should definitely do it in this instance? Or are you suggesting that because race may have had a role in the unsuccessful location of the child earlier that the family deserves special treatment because of their race? It is astounding how many people want to be treated as equals by being given special treatment.

No, and this is just an opinion, I really think one of the problems is that society as a whole has become anesticised. I mean to say, if a person sees blood everyday 1st day it makes him sick. 2nd day a little queezy. 3rd day a little fascinated. 4th day, board. This is just an example. But it goes the same way for people watching the news. The human race are as a whole a really selfish race and easily board. That's just a thought. Think about it take 2 advil and call me in the morning.

Well.mom is a minority in Texas,so what do you expect.I lived in Texas until I was 17,still have family there,and know what I am talking about

The baby was kidnapped by a minority also. it's not "whities" fault the baby was kidnapped by a minority. I bet the detectives on the case were of mixed nationality. I bet you have no facts. The race card is soooo old. Please wake up.

Carol,

They continually follow any leads that come in however, after a point, all cases are 'Cold Cased', (they continue to follow a lead that may come in though) Not Closed, Unless Solved... Like I said in above posts, the term in the story above 'CLOSED', probably the writer's...

Glockloaded, please state for us why this perticular case was given so little effort for so long. You say "the race card" is so old? So is this kidnapping and the child was basically found by accident. Where do you get off being so defensive about this case? I did not read any comment blaming the crime on "whitey". Can you explain why this missing baby was essentially forgotten by law enforcement and child services?

God damn it, the same reunions happen everywhere Kevin, this one was just another good one. Don't attribute this to the U.S.

I attribute it to the power of Prayer and Faith in GOD

I attribute it to faith in ZEUS.

And the mother just prayed that at least her child was being "loved", sad...

feddupwithpublicservants,

There is not enough info or follow up, to tell you if any one in the P.D. or S.O. or any other law enforcement agency failed in this case... The only thing anyone has to go on is the word "CLOSED", and I would be willing to bet it is the writer's word, not a fact of statement the law enforment agency had in fact "CLOSED" the case...

Since you are "Fed Up With Public Servants", next time you need a Cop, or are involved in a accicent, or your house gets burglarized, call a friend or neighbor, tell your insurance company you 'don't need no cops report, you have your own'... See what that gets you...

@CatChick74 : I don't know how much love and attention he will get. The mother was 20 years old when it happened and was pregnant with her SIXTH child.

God knows how many more she had since. Poor fellow is going to be lost among so many siblings.

Oh, wow, you did NOT just say that??

I don't know how much love and attention he will get.

God knows how many more she had since. Poor fellow is going to be lost among so many siblings.

Who are YOU to judge that families situation? Many cultures consider LARGE FAMILIES a "blessing"....I'm pretty sure a good many people have been raised in LARGE families and have turned out quite well!

Would you have made the same comment if it was a well to do white woman? Like, say, Sarah Palin?

That was an ignorant statement!