Transcript
A (0:00)
Crime Alert, I'm Nancy Grace. Breaking crime news now. Oakley Carlson has just been declared dead. Little Oakley's body has never been found. Last seen alive by someone other than her parents in 2021, her Washington state disappearance finally reported by a school principal who overhears Oakley's sister say her mom told her Oakley had, quote, gone out into the woods and had been in eaten by wolves. Our Drew Nelson joins us with the latest.
B (0:31)
Nancy Even as detectives continue to treat her case as an open homicide investigation, a judge declared Oakley Carlson legally dead. Her mother, Jordan Bowers, who was released from prison just weeks before the ruling, remains a suspect. Records show the death declaration came in Pacific county superior court nearly four years after Oakley was last seen at age 4. The petition filed on behalf of her siblings. The ruling follows years of unanswered questions since Oakley disappeared from her parents home in Oakville. The child had once lived safely with foster parents, but in 2019, the Washington Department of Children, Youth and Families returned her to her biological parents, Bowers and Andrew Carlson. Detectives said the couple gave conflicting and false statements when asked about their daughter's whereabouts. Both were later convicted of child endangerment for exposing their other children to meth. More recently, Bowers was sentenced in 2023 to 43 months in prison for identity theft and released last on community supervision for one year. Detectives from the Grays Harbor County Sheriff's Office confirmed both parents are still considered suspects in a so called nobody homicide case. Jamie Jo Hiles, who was Oakley's foster mother, says the declaration of death came as a shock. She spoke to Komo.
C (1:49)
I hope that they just keep seeing Oakley's face and maybe they just are like, okay, I need to, I need to come forward with what I know.
B (1:56)
Hiles says she still speaks often with investigators and finds Bowers release unnerving. According to records, Oakley's six year old sister told investigators that their mother had told her not to talk about Oakley and that she had, quote, gone out into the woods and had been eaten by wolves. Detectives described that as one of several disturbing comments that made them fear Oakley had been killed. No physical evidence ever supported that claim, but it helped establish what investigators called suspicious circumstances around the disappearance and led to Bowers and Andrew Carlson being treated as persons of interest. Hiles continues to advocate for Oakley.
C (2:32)
I think that just keeping her relevant just kind refreshes everybody's memory that yes, she is still out there and it's important to keep her name alive.