Officials take custody of kids who went to Oregon standoff
TOPEKA, Kan. — Seven children who were taken to perform for occupiers during the armed takeover of an Oregon wildlife refuge earlier this year have been placed in the temporary custody of Kansas child welfare officials.
The Kansas City Star reports that a judge made the placement Wednesday after finding probable cause that the children of Odalis Sharp had been abused. Sharp told the newspaper as she left the hearing that she didn’t abuse her children.
According to testimony from a 2½-hour hearing, five of her children bolted Friday as she climbed in the shower. They removed guns from the house before getting a ride from a neighbor to the Shawnee County sheriff’s office.
A child welfare worker says the children reported that their mother spanked them with a rod.