A 7-year-old girl caught in the middle of a bitter custody battle between her parents has disappeared with her father.
Seattle police are asking for the public’s help in finding Julia and Jason Potter. Julia hasn’t been seen since November 6th, 2014.
Her mother, Ralitsa Potter, keeps a diary filled with daily messages for her daughter.
“I’m trying to stay positive and to visualize you are in my arms,” said Ralitsa.
Detectives say Jason took their daughter and vanished after he lost a custody battle in King County Superior Court.
“It’s an absurd situation. It’s pure madness, actually, for every mother,” said Ralitsa.
Court documents show Jason told his attorney he was going “off the grid.”
Now, he has a $250,000 warrant for his a*rrest.
Julia’s room still looks just like she left it, decorated all pink and fit for a princess.
Her mother says she loves to paint and showed off some of Julia’s artwork.
“It’s very, very happy and usually when she paints, she puts Daddy, Momma and Julia.”
Seattle detectives don’t have reason to think Julia is in any danger but say a life on the run is not in her best interest, no matter how well her father treats her.
Psychologist and best-selling author Gregg Jantz says it will create high anxiety that may not immediately show up and could lead to serious emotional problems.
“We’ll even see an early onset of childhood depression because of this isolation factor,” said Jantz.
Ralitsa says Julia had only been in first grade for two months when she was abducted. She’s started a Facebook page called Finding missing Julia Potter, 11 years old, WA state.
She’s also hired private detectives and is even thinking about turning to psychics. She’s desperate to know her daughter is safe.
In her diary to Julia, she writes, “If you are able to, dial 911 and tell the phone operator your name, my name and that I’m searching for you. This will return you in my arms.”
Detectives say Jason Potter has friends in Tacoma, Bellingham and family in Seattle and Olympia. They are quick to say this is not about catching a dangerous fugitive, it’s about making sure a 7-year-old girl is safe.
“We’re not talking a about a guy that’s necessarily a bad guy. We’re talking about a dad that’s made a bad decision,” said retired detective Myrle Carner with C*rime Stoppers of Puget Sound, which is offering a cash reward of up to $1,000 for information on their whereabouts.
If you know where police can find Julia and Jason Potter, call 911 or the hotline anonymously at 1-800-222-tips. You must call the Cri*me Stoppers hotline to be eligible for the cash reward.
