Kaua'i girl adjusts to a different life
By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser Kaua'i Bureau
LIHU'E, Kaua'i — Angeline Bryan-Hoercher's young life is in turmoil after the arrest of her father and the arrival on Kaua'i of her mother, whom she hadn't seen in five years.
"Her life was completely turned over on Wednesday. It's a little overwhelming for an 11-year-old," said Lt. Dean Pigao of the Kaua'i Police Department's Youth Services Section.
Police say that Angeline's father, Jon Michael Bryan, took her from her mother's Florida home on a summer vacation trip in June 1998, but never brought her home. Bryan, 45, broke off contact with the child's mother, Elka Hoercher, and dropped out of sight. Police said father and daughter have been living in Kapa'a under the assumed names of Jonny Lee and Lana Lee.
Florida police and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children got a tip during the past two weeks that the two were living on Kaua'i. County police confirmed the information.
On Wednesday, police pulled Angeline out of class at Kapa'a Elementary School and put her on the phone with her mother. Not long afterward, they arrested Bryan as he arrived at the school to pick her up.
Florida police said Angeline had been told by Bryan that her mother had abandoned her and returned to her native Germany. In fact, Hoercher had remained in Florida and had been pressing authorities to help find her daughter. The two were reunited Thursday evening at an undisclosed location on Kaua'i, in the presence of police and officials from state Child Welfare Services.
The future for Angeline and her parents is uncertain. Her mother has not yet been granted custody of the girl, and her father remains in jail awaiting possible extradition to Florida.
Angeline continues to spend her evenings with a foster family. Her fate will be decided by Child Welfare Services and the Family Court, with consultation from police, Pigao said.
"Our main concern is Angeline. Everything is overwhelming to her, but she's doing better today," he said.
She remembered her mother and was eager to see her, but the girl did not remember what her own real name was, Pigao said.
Angeline has not been allowed to see her father.
While Bryan did not return the child to her mother, some reports from Florida indicate she was the custodial parent and he had only visitation rights, but others suggest they had joint custody.
Bryan is being held by Kaua'i police on a federal warrant for interstate flight to avoid prosecution, and Florida officials say they have several charges against him, the most serious being kidnapping. But local authorities have not yet seen paperwork that clearly indicates whether Bryan violated a court custody order.
"We're still determining who really had custody," Pigao said.
Reach Jan TenBruggencate at jant@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 245-3074.
