In many states including Maryland, Oklahoma and Florida, State Legislators are drafting bills known as Caylee’s Law to address that allowed Casey Anthony to escape prosecution after intentionally not reporting her child missing for more than 30 days. These laws will significantly address the plight of caregivers in underground cases where caregivers such as grandparents or domestic violence shelter workers provide false information to law enforcement officers to intentionally mislead or impede a family abduction investigation.
Unfortunately, it took a case so egregious as “Tot Mom” Casey Anthony and the death of young Caylee Anthony to bring this issue to the forefront. Searching Parents for Children of the Underground Cases have for decades been frustrated by caregivers that have intentionally misled police in their search for a missing Underground Child.
Here’s a sample of the proposed legislation for Florida.
House Bill 37 entitled “Caylee’s Law.” Specifically, the legislation will more strongly protect innocent, vulnerable children and the interests of the state, in circumstances such as those arising in the Anthony trial, where a caregiver either:
• fails to make contact with or otherwise verify the whereabouts and safety of a child 12 years of age or under for a period of 48 hours, and to immediately thereafter report the child as missing;
• fails to report the death of a child or the location of a child’s body within 2 hours after becoming aware; or
• provides false information to a law enforcement officer to intentionally mislead or impede an investigation during the critical days, weeks, and months following a child’s disappearance, thereby thwarting the chances of either returning the child safely or recovering the child’s body before critical evidence has completely disintegrated
