TCDA Bureau of Investigations Recovers Tulare County Child in Oklahoma

On August 31, 2020, criminal investigators from the Tulare County District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigations Child Abduction Unit recovered a fifteen-month-old child who was taken to Stillwater, Oklahoma by her paternal grandmother, Carrie Craiger. Craiger had no legal parental or custodial rights to the child.

The child’s mother had previously been granted sole legal and physical custody of the child.  During a recent visit to California, the grandmother (Craiger), who lived in Oklahoma, convinced the child’s mother to allow her to take the child to stay with her for a month.  Approximately one month later, the mother contacted Craiger and asked her to return the child.  Craiger advised that the child would be better off in Oklahoma and refused to return her.

With assistance from the Payne County Sheriff’s Department in Oklahoma, the child was located in Stillwater, Oklahoma and recovered from Craiger without incident.  Investigators from the Tulare County District Attorney’s Office Child Abduction Unit were able to reunite the child with her mother.

The Child Abduction Unit regularly returns children to their legal guardians. TCDA Investigators have recovered abducted children from across the United States and Mexico and as far away as New Zealand.

Media inquiries can be directed to the Office of the District Attorney, County of Tulare
Supervising Criminal Investigator Gregg White (559) 636-5494