On Friday, the three year anniversary of a mother’s escape into hiding with her two children, the Waynesboro, Pennsylvania Chief of Police announced in an extremely threatening press release that he is ratcheting up his search and the mom will be “held to account”. He literally begs people to turn her in as if she is some hardened criminal. The old boys are hard at work hunting down loving mothers who’ve escaped men’s control.
The mom, Lashada, is charged with two counts of felony custodial interference for taking her two little girls, Hanna and Skye now 10 and 7 years-old, into hiding after a judge switched custody to the father, who lived 1000 miles away. State Troopers and U.S. Marshals have also been corralled into in the case.
In the video, widely distributed by MSM, Chief James Sourbier brazenly threatens not only the mother but anyone who helps her. It really is worth watching the video to appreciate his amusingly terrorizing tone. It would be laughable if it weren’t so serious.
The Chief addresses Lashada directly in his tirade:
I tell you now, do not rest easy or think this is over or that it will end…This investigation will continue until those children are safely returned to Mr. Rex and you are held to account for the crimes you have committed.
The Chief also speaks directly to those who may be helping Lashada, seriously attempting to intimidate them:
For those of you who decide you are going to assist Ms. Lee in remaining at large, understand this: You’re part of the investigation too, and you can be a witness or you can be a co-defendant. That choice is entirely up to you.
He further states Lashada is being “sheltered and protected, fed and clothed by friends and family and associates in their endeavors to avoid Ms. Lee’s apprehension and the return of these two missing children.” Of course she is. Because those helping her understand she was driven to give up her life and risk prison due to an unjust ruling by a biased Family Court judge.
The Chief continues, “Someone out there possesses the knowledge and the key that will allow these children to be found and returned and Ms. Lee to be taken to account for the actions and crimes she has committed.”
All this bloviating despite the fact he knows the girls are not, nor have ever been, in any physical danger with their mother. Maybe the Chief should be making better use of tax dollars and doing press releases about capturing violent and serious criminals instead.
To be somewhat fair: the Chief may not realize there is an epidemic of mothers wrongly losing custody and being unable to protect children in family courts. But he does know she is not a danger and may have a good rationale for fleeing. He should account for the mother’s reasoning for fleeing before siding with the father.
CUSTODY BATTLE
Not much is known about Lashada’s custody battle except that it had been going on for three years before she fled, ever since her girls were 1 and 4. She had been living in Waynesboro County, Pennsylvania when a judge switched custody of the girls, then 7 and 4, on March 17, 2020 to the father who lived 1000 miles away in Florida.
The judge ordered the change be implemented “immediately” and the father planned to come up to Pennsylvania to fetch the girls right away. Lashada had make a life-altering decision and to pack up and leave her life and everything she had known in just days. Fortunately she was able to pull it off.
There was no reason for a judge to make this drastic of a change, with no psychological or emotional preparation allowed for the girls, during the school year. Just take them from their friends and everything they know in a matter of days. This demonstrates how little this judge cares about the kids, like so many family court judges.
Most women who take the drastic step of going into hiding are trying to protect their children from serious physical or sexual abuse. However, it is possible that Lashada just thought it would be bad for the girls to live with the father and wanted what is best for them.
It is also unknown what pretext the judge used to justify switching custody. It was likely some version of the "mad or bad” tropes that women are inevitably accused of when they dare challenge paternal entitlement. The most popular excuse may have been used—that Mom is alienating or in some way interfering with the relationship between the father and children.
NOTE: If anyone knows who the judge is who switched custody, plz email womenscoalitionintl@gmail.com and we will update.
MSM & NCMEC
Mainstream media [MSM] is toeing the party line, as usual. They are portraying Lashada as an evil abductor and the father as the poor, “grieving” victim. There is no looking into why she may have fled. There is no context given.
This does not happen with reporting on other issues. Most credible media outlets make sure and contact both sides before airing a story. They could have easily found that she had a good reason for fleeing and that family courts are unjustly removing custody from good mothers and giving them to abusive and otherwise undeserving fathers.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children [NCMEC] has taken on and is actively publicizing Lashanda’s case. They are characterizing the missing girls as having “vanished”.
NCMEC often works with fathers, profiling cases in which mothers go into hiding to protect their children without even bothering to look into the case. They really should only be taking on cases in which children are being endangered.
It would be great if a mother whose case NCMEC profiled would sue them and they would be forced to change their policy to not taking cases unless there is credible evidence of abuse by the abductor.
OBN/FRA PROPAGANDA
So why is this police chief so jacked up about this case anyway? Perhaps trying to rack up some kudos with the Old Boys?
Lashada’s case is a good example of how state and federal law enforcement and the criminal justice system work in tandem with the family court system to keep women and children under the control of the father—ensuring patriarchal dominance post-separation.
Ever since women gained the legal right to custody of children, the OBN [old boy network] and their right hand men the FRA’s [fathers’ rights activists] have found various ways to maintain age-old male power over “their” women and children. One of the strategies is to disseminate propaganda via the media which conditions the public to believe that children do best—or just fine—with fathers having equal or primary custody.
The research does not support this position, but most people are not up on the research so OBN propaganda prevails. The research actually supports that in the vast majority of contested custody cases, children do best living with their primary bond, usually the mother, and visiting the other parent, usually the father.
The Chief definitely chalked one up with the Old Boys by siding with the father of the girls, portraying the sudden switch of primary custody to the father as just fine with no reason provided. And by being so supportive as to rant to the public, brazenly threatening the mother, her friends and family for not go along with this obviously dubious and patriarchal ruling.
As if to say, “Hah, we’ll gladly convict and imprison these errant ex wives who dare challenge male authority!”
ENGAGE IN ACTIVISM!
Want to vent some outrage at Family Court and enablers? Contact the Chief and/or D.A. Also, show solidarity by commenting here and on Facebook in support of Lashada. And SHARE!
CALL OR EMAIL
Call or email Chief James Sourbier and tell him/his office you stand with Lashada Lee and they should stop profiling her case and should take it down from the home page of their website.
Phone: (717) 762-2132
Email: jsourbier@waynesboropolice.com
Example to copy or modify:
Dear Chief Sourbier,
I am with The Women’s Coalition and we are asking you to please stop promoting the capture of Lashada Lee. She is a loving mother who was failed by Family Court just as I and thousands of other mothers have been. Please spend tax dollars on capturing violent and serious criminals instead. Thank you
You may also call D.A. Matthew Fogal and ask him to dismiss the felony charges against Lashada: (717) 261-3827 M-F, 8:30am - 4:30pm [voicemail available]
COMMENT
You can google Lashada Lee and comment on the various media posts, articles and youtube videos.
Please comment here and on Facebook with support for Lashada. She will surely appreciate that.
IN OTHER NEWS
Great news in the “Teen Barricades in Room” story! The judge has “paused” his order to switch custody and reunify Ty and Bryn with their physically and sexually abusive father. They are now able to emerge from their bedrooms where they’ve been barricaded since December.
Judge Derek Pullan attributed this change of heart to new information about the criminal case against the father, but it is much more likely he felt the heat from all the publicity and everyone who raged against his decision.
Thanks to all Coalitionists who took the time to sign the petition and comment and share posts.
From ProPublica article: Judge Pauses Order to Return Siblings to Father They Say Abused Them
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Police Chief Ratchets Up Search for Mom on 3 Year Anniversary of Her Escape