Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more!
Oakley Carlson Was Kept in a Locked Cell Under Stairs Before Vanishing, New Court Documents Say
Oakley Carlson was last seen alive in February of 2021. Parents Jordan Bowers and Andrew Carlson are the main suspects in the girl's disappearance.
A 5-year-old Washington girl — who vanished more than two years ago and is presumed dead — was allegedly "kept in a locked 'cell' underneath the stairs," according to newly released court records.
Oakley Carlson was last seen alive in February 2021. Parents Jordan Bowers and Andrew Carlson are the main suspects in the toddler’s disappearance.
Authorities had previously described Oakley’s disappearance as “criminal in nature," according to Tacoma news station KCPQ.
RELATED: Parents Of Missing 5-Year-Old Could Be Charged After New Evidence Surfaces
In late November 2021, Bowers and Carlson claimed they’d "lost track" of their daughter and hadn’t seen her for several days. Carlson later filed a formal missing person report for his 5-year-old daughter. The pair haven’t been formally charged in connection with Oakley's disappearance.
Recently released court documents obtained by Oxygen.com allege Oakley endured a litany of abuse leading up to her disappearance. Those filings state the young Washington girl was imprisoned in a makeshift cell at the family’s home.
“OC was kept in a locked ‘cell’ underneath the stairs,” the court documents stated, citing one of Oakley’s siblings, who is referred to as "BB-P" in the document.
Another sibling of the missing girl, called "DC" in the court documents, allegedly told authorities during preliminary investigation in the case that Oakley had started a house fire with a torch Bower owned. The child was later allegedly physically abused for playing with the lighter. The child referred to as "DC" also cryptically disclosed that Oakley was "under her mother’s bed and in the woods."
The revelations were recounted in a Washington Court of Appeals opinion that was released this month regarding the release of Department of Children, Youth & Families (DCYF) records pertaining to Oakley and her siblings to county investigators, according to KCPQ.
Bowers had previously attempted to halt the release of the court records to the Grays Harbor County Sheriff's Office, according to the outlet. Investigators had requested access to the documents in an effort to try to generate any new leads in the search for Oakley.
The juvenile court ultimately ruled in favor of handing the documents over to authorities, listing the "emergent basis" of locating the girl, who was "missing... and [was] extremely endangered."
One of Oakley’s siblings also previously told investigators that Oakley had "gone out into the woods and had been eaten by wolves." The sibling also claimed that Bowers had forbidden the child from talking about Oakley.
RELATED: DNA Match Leads to Murder Charge in Brutal 1993 Killing of 12-Year-Old Jennifer Odom
Bowers and Carlson have served jail time for using meth in the company of their children. Carlson has since been released.
Separately, Bowers was sentenced to 43 months in prison on Monday in a different case involving identity theft charges. Prosecutors have requested she pay the case’s victims $26,850.58 in restitution. A future court hearing will address the restitution matter, according to KCPQ.
