TAHLEQUAH, Okla. (AP) — The father of a Cherokee girl at the center of an adoption dispute has arrived at an Oklahoma courthouse, apparently without the girl.
Matt and Melanie Capobianco of South Carolina obtained a court order asking Dusten Brown to bring 3-year-old Veronica to the Cherokee County Courthouse Friday morning. A South Carolina court approved their adoption of the child, but a Cherokee Nation court has granted custody to Brown and his family.
Brown entered the courthouse without the child. Police and lawyers flanked them, while Brown supporters held up signs outside the building.
The Capobiancos had the child until 19 months ago, when Brown pressed claims under the Indian Child Welfare Act. The U.S. Supreme Court said the Act did not apply and a South Carolina court granted the Capobiancos custody.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.