Haylee Donathan, Candace Watson Found at Twelve Tribes Ranch in California
Haylee Donathan, the 4-year-old Ohio girl that went missing May 28 with her mother and a convicted sex offender, was found Tuesday at the Morning Star Ranch ran by the Twelve Tribes in California, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. The nationwide search for Haylee Donathan, her mother Candace Watson, and sex offender Robbi Potter ended at a Christian ranch (the Twelve Tribes) outside Los Angeles after authorities followed up on a tip. Haylee Donathan was unharmed.
A resident at the Twelve Tribes ranch, a Christian retreat, saw the pictures of Haylee Donathan and the two adults on a billboard and recognized them from the ranch. They immediately called the Twelve Tribes ranch manager, who checked the plates of the pickup the fugitives arrived in. After verifying the plates and that Candace Watson and Robbi Potter were indeed visitors at the ranch, the manager called 911.
Police responded and found Haylee Donaldson unharmed and in good spirits, according to Deputy U.S. Marshal Omar Castillo. He added that she may have just gotten over the chicken pox but otherwise seemed fine. Haylee Donathan will be returned to Ohio and placed in custody of her grandmother, who was awarded emergency custody of the child as a precaution pending developments in the case.
Castillo said the three had been at the Twelve Tribes Ranch for about a week. According to a second tipster, the three may have even visited a Wild Animal Park together a few days previous to their discovery and capture.
The U. S. Marshall Service had a $10,000 reward posted to go to anyone with information leading to the whereabouts of Haylee Donathan.
But the hunt for Haylee Donathan and her mother, Candace Watson, began on May 28, when Robbi Potter walked away from the halfway house he was assigned to in Mansfield, Ohio. Three people were later arrested for being involved in Potter’s escape, including Haylee Donathan’s father and uncle. The uncle, who served time in prison with Robbi Potter on sex offender charges, said he believed his niece could be in some form of danger.
However, the extent of Candace Watson’s involvement with Robbi Potter is as yet unknown. It is believed she met Potter the day he escaped the halfway house in Mansfield. Nor has later surveillance photos of Watson in a Marion, Ohio, Wal-Mart and a Colorado gas station shed any light on the relationship of Watson and Potter. She seemed to be acting alone in the photos and footage released to the public, but it is unclear as to whether she was performing under duress or threat to her life or her child’s life. By extension, it is also unknown if she was forced to accompany Potter on his cross-country escape or if she went willingly. In addition, it is also unknown if she willingly exposed her daughter to a Tier III sex offender, which is Robbi Potter’s sex offender designation, the worst type of sex offender in Ohio’s criminal registry.
Due to his sex offender status, Robbi Potter is not legally supposed to be around children.
Authorities issued an endangered child alert for Haylee Donathan after they discovered she and her mother were possibly in Robbi Potter’s company. Potter had recently been released from prison on charges of sexual battery against a minor.
Both Candace Watson and Robbi Potter were arrested at the Twelve Tribes Ranch and will be extradited to Ohio to face charges.
Now authorities have to discern the nature of the relationship between Candace Watson and Robbi Potter. If Watson willingly accompanied Potter and if she knew that he was a convicted sex offender, she could face charges of criminal child neglect and child endangerment. If she in any way aided Robbi Potter during his escape (without being under duress), Candace Watson could face even more charges.
Robbi Potter will face numerous charges in relation to breaking probation.
It is uncertain whether or not the three arrested for assisting in Potter’s escape will face additional charges. However, given the nature of the fugitive and his sex offender status, charges of child endangerment might be leveled against them as well, especially if they knew of his sex offender status, which the uncle of Haylee Donathan did.
The most heartening news to come from the three-week nationwide search is that the child, Haylee Donathan, was unharmed, which seems to be a fortunate happenstance given the diligence with which the adults in her life seemed to exercise on her behalf.
