Open Letter To Dr. And Mrs. Timothy Monahan

Dr. Timothy Monahan and his wife, Jennifer, of Liberty, Missouri, went to Guatemala in 2008 and left that country with a kidnapped child. They did not kidnap the little girl, but they bought her from an organized crime ring that stole her from her mom, while she was taking groceries inside. They left the country as quickly as they could, despite the missing persons posters with little Anyeli's face. Later on, in Missouri, they denied that they had purchased a stolen child, but the DNA testing told a different story.

Dr. Monahan, why won't you just admit that you accidentally got involved with a bunch of dangerous thugs, and give Anyeli back to her mother? You may have noticed that I used the word "purchased" instead of "adopted" in the paragraph above. It was not a typo. You did NOT adopt Anyeli Rodriguez, and she is NOT your daughter. Adoptions happen when all parties are in agreement about the matter, and they go through the court legally, in all countries concerned. The identities of all parties are clear, no fake names, no phony birth certificates. This did not happen in the case of the missing child you brought back to America from Guatemala. What did happen was a kidnapping, followed by false imprisonment, followed by fraud, (falsified birth certificate) followed by abandonment, followed by the act of human trafficking in which you continue to engage. You may not have known what was happening at first, although if you are actually innocent, it seems as if you would have given the victim back to her parents, but now that you know, why do you continue to assert your illicit connection to the victim, albeit not initially your fault, over the legitimate connection of her birth mother? If you had done this in America, that child would be back with her family. Is a middle class Guatemalan mom really that much easier to impugn?

Ya know, Dr. Monahan, if Anyeli were my child, I would do whatever I had to do to bring her home. Your money, your big house, your housekeepers and receptionists.........all those things would not convince me that my child was better off with you. I don't think Anyeli's TRUE mother thinks so, either. Anyeli is simply not your child, that is all there is to it. Anyeli was the victim of a kidnapping, and she was found far away from her home, in a different country. Why do you think you have a right to keep her, now that she has been found? Did you purchase her fair and square, like a couch or a second hand car? Do you really think it's possible that you love Anyeli, even though her mother searched relentlessly for over five years to find her? What were you doing for those five years? Do you think you prayed as hard as Anyeli's family? I don't think it is possible that you experience love, because this situation has called for the reuniting of mother and child ever since you found out who she actually is, yet you resist. You are really a selfish pig, not a dad.

Suppose Kyron Horman, or Lisa Irwin were found? Suppose they were found living with families who have more money than their natural parents? Would those people, no matter how they got these kidnapped children, get to keep them, because they were rich enough to impugn the natural parents? Should it be okay for people with more money to just go out, and have kids stolen, from people with less money? Or would Kyron's parents demand him back, at once? But that's easy.........I have assumed that both children mentioned above are on American soil. Suppose a missing child from America is found in Guatemala? Should we tell the anxiety-ridden natural parents the same thing you are telling your prisoner's parents? Finders keepers, losers weepers? What if authorities in other countries are watching this, and think everyone in America is as creepy and evil as you? What if this sets some sort of a precedent, and other countries decide not to work with the United States in kidnapping cases anymore, because of you? Please give the little girl back.

I do not live too far away from you, Dr. and Mrs. Monahan. That brings me to another reason I really hope that you will do the right thing and let Anyeli's true parents have her back. This has caused a bit of an international fracus. The United States appears to be vested enough in human trafficking, during these dismal economic times, to look the other way while you keep a child who was kidnapped, but what if Anyeli's family decides not to look the other way? Suppose Loyda Rodriguez loves her child more than you can imagine loving anyone? Suppose Anyeli's family is not going to just give up? You obviously imagine that they have forgotten their daughter, but what if they haven't? Anyeli's own country wants her back, and; after all, you ARE holding  a Guatemalan citizen against her will. What if some sort of retaliation against you changes the area for all of us?  Can you see why many people, even if not vested in morals and love of children, would like to see you just do the right thing and give this kidnapping victim back to her Guatemalan family? I know you feel that you bought her fair and square, but human beings are not for sale.

Anyeli Hernandez Rodriguez. No legitimate connection to Dr. And Mrs. Timothy Monahan, of Liberty, Missouri.