Melinda Duckett (a.k.a. Mee Kee Ong Lee) was born in Korea. Adopted by a NY family as a child she would grow to be the subject of much debate. Unlike all the other current stories of adoption battles, hers is not one of them. Her story concerns her missing child Trenton and her subsequent suicide.
She was thought by some to have given Trenton to someone prior to her death. Many believe it was due to her on-going fight over custody. Until recently, the search has been predominantly confined to Florida.
Several weeks ago, at least one witness came forward suggesting she spoke in the past about returning to her “roots”, and thus the search has been expanded to South Korea. Is Trenton being raised there?
Another custody battle, involves a young girl of Chinese ancestry. She has lived her entire life in the U.S.
Anna Mae He is a Chinese girl at the center of court rulings, international media attention, anguished testimony and a battle over who will raise her.
Almost her entire life has been in the care of a foster family but that may soon change as the Tennessee Supreme Court has ordered her returned to her biological parents
What is strange to some is the amount of time it has taken the courts to decide her fate. The issue of adoption and custody in the case of Allison Quets was decided in months. In the case of Shaoqiang and Qin Luo (a.k.a. Jack & Casey) He, placing their child in foster care has taken eight years to establish custody.
Is Ms. Quets being penalized because she is Caucasian, 49-years-old, well educated, single and her “choice” of adoption over temporary foster care? Was foster care even an option presented to her?
In a case that has prompted fierce debate about ethnic and cultural bias in the U.S. judicial system, the court unanimously overturned a 2004 decision by a Memphis judge who removed the parental rights of Jack and Casey He. The Tennessee Supreme Court ruled that the couple were penalized because of their financial disadvantages and misunderstanding of the U.S. legal system.
The Hes have had two more children since Anna Mae’s birth. “When she wakes up each morning, she’ll wake up and see her mother and daddy and her brother and sister, and we’ll all have the same faces she has,” Shaoqiang He said.
Though Mr. He according to the Tennessee Supreme Court didn’t understand the U.S. legal system, Mr. He was able to understand the legal system well enough to be acquitted of a sexual assault charge while attending the University of Memphis.
In their case they made a decision to “temporarily” place the child with another family when she was three weeks old but since she wasn’t adopted they are able to legally take her back.
Anna Mae was born in 1999 shortly after her father, then a student at the University of Memphis, was accused of a sexual assault. He was acquitted, but the charge cost him a scholarship and the student stipend that was his family’s primary source of income.
The Hes said they sent Anna Mae to live with the Bakers temporarily when she was about a month old because of their legal and financial hardships. But the Bakers refused to give Anna Mae up.
Ironically, the only one not understanding the legal system now is an 8-year-old girl.
Update 02-09-08 Last night ABC 20/20 ran an update to her story.
For the Love of Anna Mae
Two Families Come Together After Custody Battle, Only to Be Torn Apart
Nine-year-old Anna Mae He was born in the United States, but her birth parents plan to return with her to China — maybe for good — on Feb. 9.
Update 02-09-08 The Hes have boarded a plane headed for China minutes ago according to WREG-TV Memphis. Is there another chapter soon to unfold?
The Hes are going to China because an immigration judge gave them until May to voluntarily leave or else they’d be deported. Coming back to the U.S. would be difficult. They didn’t’ want that because the hope is to return one day with Anna.
Jack He says he is grateful for everything people in Memphis have done to help him, especially his church, New Sardis Baptist Church.
Coming up Monday, an interview the He family didn’t want us to air until they left the country. Jack He made it clear to News Channel 3’s Richard Ransom he didn’t want anyone to see it, especially the Bakers. Ransom’s one on one interview airs Monday at 10:00.
Update: WREG-TV Memphis:
Last summer, a Tennessee Supreme Court order gave custody back to the Hes. The Bakers will tell you it was a dark day for American justice. Jack He will tell you, “Yes, justice prevails.”
He says the Bakers’ fight to retain custody of Anna Mae only made her eventual adjustment more painful. “We can say they loved Anna Mae but their love is kind of selfish. For I’ll give an example. They have been trying to keep the parents away. They have been trying to turn the child around from her natural parents and… I don’t feel comfortable with that kind of love ,” He said.
The Bakers say hearing that their love would be questioned was like a kick in the gut. “We love her with all of our heart and all of our soul. It’s disappointing that Jack mentions some things right before he boards a plane and heads for China. But the truth is we have no resentment toward the Hes. They’re precious people to us.”
Note: On Monday’s Montel Williams show he will be airing a segment titled “ADOPTION SCAMS: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW”
MEMPHIS, TN (WMC-TV) – The biological father of Anna Mae He has been missing for the past three months.
Update 10-08-08 Jack He reportedly leaves family after argument
MEMPHIS, TN (WMC-TV) – The biological father of Anna Mae He has been missing for the past three months.
The He family fought for seven years to gain custody of daughter Anna Mae, adopted by an American couple.
CAMPBELL BROWN: NO BIAS, NO BULL transcript of interview with Anna Mae He.
When a child goes missing 