Missing and Murdered Children

Pictured to the left is 5-year-old Jade Ferrando. Yes, I said she is a 5-year-old and weighs approximately 12 pounds in this picture. Jade’s mother, Anahi Ferrando, left her daughter in the custody of 25-year-old Michael John Bowden, who had been given legal power of authority over Jade while she was serving with the U.S. Army in Iraq. At the time legal power of authority was signed over to Michael Bowden he was her boyfriend and had been her boyfriend for the previous two years.

Anahi claims to have come to visit in April from her military assignment in Texas before being deployed to Iraq. She claims at that time, after Jade had been in the care of Michael Bowden since November 2005, Jade appeared to be fine so she had no doubts about leaving her daughter with Michael upon her departure to serve in Iraq.

However, on August 22, 2006, when Jade’s grandfather came by to visit her he was shocked to find his granddaughter in the a near death state of starvation. He took the action of going to court and obtaining an ex parte order to remove Jade from Michael Bowden’s custody. He came to the home with police officers who took Michael Bowden into custody while Jade’s grandfather rushed her to the hospital.

After obtaining treatment for his granddaughter and while she was in the hospital he took photographs of her and emailed them to his daughter in Iraq. She was granted emergency leave and came back to the United States to be with her daughter. She also found out that while she had been in Iraq, Michael Bowden pilfered her bank account. She believes after speaking with friends that Michael became involved with drugs and that explains where the money went. It does not explain how someone could starve a child almost to death.

Jade was released from the hospital on September 7, 2006 to the custody of her mother. Jade had gained five pounds by then and was able to eat solid foods as long as they are soft. She will require many visits to the hospital for physical therapy to regain use of her muscles. The only way she can communicate at this time is by facial expression - apparently she is not speaking. Doctors felt it was best for Jade to go home to continue her treatment because she has not been able to sleep the entire two weeks she has been hospitalized, even with the help of medication.

Now, for Michael Bowden. He has made one court appearance and that was regarding custody. Michael Bowden has been ordered to appear in court four times to face the second-degree child abuse charge against him. Get this - he has refused to appear for his court appearances and has remained in his jail cell.

I don’t understand why he is allowed to refuse to appear in court. I don’t understand why the judge does not order him into court even if that means restraining him and carrying him to court.

Jade’s mother must report for duty at Fort Hood, Texas, she does not know if she will be redeployed to Iraq. She feels she needs to stay in the Army so she can support her daughter. She claims that is why she joined the Army in the first place. The good thing is she will leave Jade in the care of her parents when she returns to the Army.

• Source: DesertNews.com
• Source: DesertNews.com