Missouri's "Too Fat to Adopt Man" Faces Losing More Than Weight

By Carrie K. Hutchens

Gary and Cynthia Stocklaufer went through a horrendous and wrongful battle to regain custody of the baby entrusted to them by a relative and stolen from them by the system in Missouri. It was a long and hard fought battle with Gary receiving by-pass surgery to get rid of hundreds of pounds, but it was also a battle that got rid of thousands of dollars, too. So, while Gary has lost a great deal of weight, it seems, according to Fox 4, that he and Cynthia are threatened with losing a car and behind on other bills. And this is right because why?

Baby Max -- now Dakota Allen Lee Stocklaufer -- was placed in another home after adoption was initially denied the Stocklaufers. He was placed with people who believed they were going to be able to adopt him. I found that strange at the time, since the Stocklaufer's were still fighting for custody. The battle wasn't over, and yet DFS (and related peoples) were acting as though it was and apparently gave the new family false hope as a result. Such unnecessary pain caused by the Missouri system.

The Stocklaufer's case makes one wonder about a great many things. How many people have wrongfully lost children SIMPLY because they didn't have the money to fight, nor the excellent attorney that specializes in such cases? How many indeed?

In the Stocklaufer's case -- a mother gave up her parental rights only on the condition that her relatives -- Gary and Cynthia Stocklaufer -- adopt her son. That mother gave permission for Gary and Cynthia to bring her baby to Missouri, which she had every right to do. So, how could there have been a problem with the baby being brought into a home in Missouri, and into the Stocklaufer's home in particular, as the court tried to use as an excuse after the story got national coverage?

Is the Stocklaufer case an isolated one?

Does the State of Missouri play fair, or do some (within the system) strive to wrongfully stack the deck against foster parents and/or hopeful-adoptive parents? Is there true accountability within the Division of Family Services or do the case workers get to merely play with people's lives based upon their personal opinions and mood for the day? One must wonder. I know I do.

Baby Max (aka Dakota Allen Lee) was returned to his rightful family. How many children have not been?


Carrie Hutchens is a former law enforcement officer and a freelance writer who is active in fighting against the death culture movement and the injustices within the judicial and law enforcement systems.