Halfway2sane

Oakley Carlson was placed in foster care in August 2017 when she was about 7 months old. She was formally placed with foster parents Erik and Jamie Jo Hiles in Elma, Washington, on September 22, 2017.  She remained in their care until she was returned to her biological parents in early 2020.  Oakley was last seen by someone outside of her family in Feb. 2021. 

Before I even get into the story I want to read to you a page from the Website “Justice for Oakley” so you know exactly who Oakley was.

So, the heartbreaking part of the story begins in Dec. 2021, 10 months after she was last seen by someone outside the family. This is when authorities were first alerted to the fact that Oakley was missing.  The search began on Dec. 6th when Oakley’s older sister made an alarming comment at a sleepover saying, “Oakley is no more” and “there is no Oakley.” And then the school principal requested a welfare check after discovering that Oakley had not attended school for an extended period of time.

But, here’s my thing….In the previous school year she did not attend school after February all through June, then the new year started in Aug or Sept and it took until Dec. when someone realized she hadn’t attended school. wHY DID IT TAKE SO LONG?

So anyway, police were notified and after some questioning by police Oakley’s parents, Andrew Carlson and Jordan Bowers, told police they “LOST TRACK’ of Oakley 5 to 10 days prior in late Nov. They were arrested in Dec. on allegations of child abandonment.

They said the last time they seen Oakley was Nov. 30th, 2021.  However, they had a house fire on Nov. 6th that displaced the family and Oakley was never seen leaving that house and there is no evidence she was even alive at the time of the fire. However, her father stated that Oakley was the one who started the fire by lighting the couch on fire.  Jamie Jo (the foster mother) said she warned the agency after learning about the fire.  The email to the caseworker read:  “Hey, this is not normal, this is not safe and I’m letting you know now that if something happens to these kids that you have been forewarned.  When you send a child back from foster care and a mandated reporter calls, you listen to that call. You don’t screen that out.” 

In an interview with a child advocate Oakley’s sister said her mother told her not to talk about Oakley and that Oakley had gone out into the woods and had been eaten by wolves.  And her 9yr old brother told detectives that their mother would put Oakley in the “cell” which was a closet below the staircase and that he witnessed the mother beat Oakey with a belt and he was worried about her starving. And one of the children stated at one point Oakley was under the bed.

In Dec. 2021, law enforcement declared Oakley missing and placed her siblings into protective custody.  Andrew and Jordan were arrested for obstructing an investigation. 

In 2022, unrelated to Oakley’s case, both parents were convicted of child endangerment involving a controlled substance in a case related to their two other children. And then when Jordan was released, she was arrested again on identity theft charges. 

An attorney for the guardian ad litem for Oakley’s siblings petitioned the court on July 3rd, 2025 to declare Oakley dead and that request was approved 8 days later. Despite the death declaration, Oakley’s body has not been found and her whereabouts remain unknown.  State law permits someone to be declared dead through clear and convincing evidence, even without a body.  The petition read:  ‘There is no circumstance in which Oakley could still be alive after having not been seen in over 4 yrs an having last been seen at only 5 yrs old.  There is no suspicion she has been kidnapped and law enforcement suspects that Andrew and Jordan are to blame for her disappearance.  There is no other explanation as to why this young girl could not be located in over 4 yrs. And it is because she is, sadly deceased.  It also stated the last time Oakley was seen she had dark circles under her eyes, scratches on her face and a black eye.  And, “we want to clarify that the request to legally declare Oakley Carlson deceased also serves the purpose of obtaining critical records and information necessary to fulfill the obligations of Oakley’s Guardian to investigate and assess the physical abuse, neglect and emotional abuse experienced by Oakley and her siblings while under the care and custody of the state of Washington. In cases involving complex or uncertain circumstances, certain legal processes are required in order to access sealed records, medical documentation, or other essential information that directly impacts the well being and legal status of family members, especially vulnerable children.”

Here’s what’s upsetting to me….

Jamie Jo Hiles, Oakley’s foster mother, did not find out til awhile after the fact that Oakley had been declared dead.  She posted on her Facebook group “Where is Oakley Carlson?” on Oct 6th…This was done quietly without transparency or communication.  I am Oakley’s mom.  I loved her, cared for her, and have been fighting for her memory.  Imagine being a parent and finding ut from someone else that your child has been declared dead.  The pain and shock of that moment are indescribable.  No parent should ever have to experience that kind of disregard.”

She did say an attorney for Oakley’s biological family asked her in May to help declare her deceased so her siblings could become heirs to her estate.  She said she declined.  She said, “while I care deeply about Oaklely’s siblings and want them to have peace and stability, my focus has always been on justice for Oakley and the criminal case that still matters.”  She said, “this effort has been described as a way to hold the Washington State Department of Children, Youth and Families accountable.  However, she thinks it looks more like a pursuit of financial gain than a pursuit of Justice. If the people behind this truly care about honoring Oakley’s life, I invite them to join me in continuing her legacy through the non-profit created in her name.  Together we can fight for children, for transparency and for reform in the systems that failed her.  That would be meaningful advocacy.  That would be love.”  Jamie Jo Hiles family  created a non-profit called “The Oakley Carlson Reward”,  which raised over $100,000 to reward anyone with information leading to the location and recovery of Oakley.

The child fatality review, published by the Washington Dept. of Children, Youth and Families, documents at least 14 referrals to Child Protective Services involving Oakley’s family and raises questions about whether the girl was returned to her biological parents too quickly despite ongoing safely concerns.

Between 2013 and 2014, 5 reports involved Jordan Bowers, Andrew Carlson and Oakley’s half sibling.  That child was briefly placed out of the home and later returned.

In 2017, CPS received allegations that Jordan yelled profanities at a 17 month old sibling and failed to provide necessary medical care.  That report was closed for not meeting the legal threshold for intervention. A month later, another caller raised similar concerns and alleged drug use and domestic violence.  A CPS investigation followed and DCYF filed dependency petitions for Oakley and her siblings.  Law enforcement removed the children from the home. In 2018, the court declared the children dependent after the parents failed to appear at a hearing.  DCYF later sought to terminate parental rights.  After that filing, Andrew and Jordan began completing court ordered services; parenting classes, substance use treatment and psychological evaluations.  Andrew, however, was discharged from domestic violence treatment due to non-compliance.

DCYF said a judge granted Jordan’s appeal and the termination case never went to trial.  In 2019, a caseworker and a court appointed advocate asked to change the plan to adoption for Oakley.  The court denied the request.  

That fall, DCYF began allowing unsupervised visits.  A caseworker documented that Oakley appeared to be doing well and made no concerning disclosures.  The cout approved a trial return home with regular monitoring.  

Jamie Jo said, “My husband and I were over the moon excited to adopt Oakley, then months later, to be told, Just Kidding, she’s returning home next month, blows my mind.”  She said, “they still return the kids home even though the report says that he just wasn’t doing what he was supposed to be doing for his substance abuse classes and his domestic violence classes.  Do we think that’s ok?”

Then the pandemic hit and Governor Jay Inslee ordered safety visits to be conducted virtually.  In June 2020, the court dismissed Oakley’s dependency case, ending DCYF supervision.

In Jan. 2021, DCYF received a report that Oaklely had scratches and bruises o her face around Christmas, with the person reporting that they heard screaming from the home.  When a DCYF caseworker tried to visit the home, they noted that Jordan wuld not let them in because she “was afraid of CPS.”  The caseworker briefly saw Oakley through a sliding glass door, wearing only a diaper and did not observe visible injuries.  In the report, it does say , “we have no legal right to go in and search a house.”  But Jamie Jo said, “Don’t you thin you should have followed up a little bit more than that?”

A school principal then did a welfare check on Feb. 10th, 2021, but did not see Oakley.  A caseworker checked again on March 8th, 2021, but was refused entry by Jordan, who said she would not answer any questions without an attorney present.  That was the final documented in person contact with Oakley’s family by a caseworker. 

For that, Jamie Jo reading that report was devastating and said it made her sick to her stomach.  She said, “I thought, that’s it?  That’s all you did to check on her  That’s the last time my baby was ok?

The report notes that there should have been more of an effort in the Jan. 2021 visit to interview Oakley’s siblings and relatives and notes there are areas for improvement, but a DCYF spokesperson said, ‘Any identified improvement opportunities are not intended to suggest a direct correlation with the presumed fatality in this case.  Improvement opportunities are defined as the gap between what the family needed and what they received from the child welfare system.

The Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office continues to actively investigate this case and they are working closely with the Grays Horbor County Prosecutors Office looking into a no body homicide prosecution.

Anyone with information relevant to her case can contact Grays Harbor Sheriff’s Office detectives at 360-964-1770 or sodetectives@graysharbor.us.