Early Background and DCYF Involvement (2013–2019)

April 2013

• The Washington Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) begins involvement with Oakley’s family after multiple reports of domestic violence, substance abuse, and neglect.

2014

• Oakley’s half-sibling, BB-P, enters dependency proceedings and is placed in out-of-home care. The mother participates in substance abuse and domestic violence services. BB-P is returned to her care in 2015.

June 2017

• DCYF received a referral alleging:
• Jordan Bowers had untreated mental health issues
• One-year-old DC was not receiving appropriate services
• The intake was screened out.

July 2017

• DCYF received an emergent intake alleging:
• DC was not receiving required medication
• Domestic violence was occurring in the home
• Andrew Carlson was using methamphetamine
• Following investigation, DCYF filed dependency petitions for:
• BB-P
• DC
• Oakley Carlson
• DC and Oakley were placed into out-of-home care.
• BB-P was placed with his biological father.

Foster Care and Dependency Period (2017–2019)

August 2017

• Oakley begins living with foster parents Erik and Jamie Jo Hiles in Elma, Washington, at about nine months old.

September 22, 2017

• Oakley is formally placed with Erik and Jamie Jo Hiles.

December 6, 2017

• Oakley turns one.

July 2018

• DCYF changes Oakley’s permanent plan to adoption.

July 30, 2018

• Andrew Carlson is booked for fourth-degree assault after attacking Jordan Bowers.

November 14, 2018

• Carlson is ordered by the court to obtain a domestic-violence evaluation within 90 days of release and complete all recommended treatment.

December 6, 2018

• Oakley turns two.

Warnings and Reunification (2019)

March 7, 2019

• Oakley returns from a supervised visit with red marks on her cheeks. Visit supervisor Brenda says she does not know what caused the injuries.

March 26, 2019

• Jamie Jo Hiles emails caseworker Angela Fries and attaches photos and the visit log. No recorded response.

March 28, 2019

• An email from Angela Fries of DCYF to Jamie Jo Hiles discussed scheduling a “health and safety” visit involving the Carlson children.
• The message stated: “With visitation right now I know that does not leave a lot of open days.”

May 13, 2019

• A domestic violence treatment provider notified DCYF that Andrew Carlson failed to comply with treatment requirements.
• The letter stated Carlson:
• Failed to attend group sessions since April 1, 2019
• Was discharged from the program
• Would not be allowed back until paying reinstatement fees and balances due
• The correspondence was addressed to DCYF in Aberdeen, Washington.

May 16, 2019

• DCYF files a sealed confidential report on Bowers and Carlson with the court.

May 20, 2019

• Prosecutors file a petition stating Carlson failed to complete his domestic-violence evaluation or treatment.

July–September 2019

• Carlson attends additional court hearings on the matter.

September 30, 2019

• DCYF informs the Hiles family that Oakley will be returned to her biological parents in January 2020.

October 11, 2019

• The Hileses meet with DCYF staff at the Aberdeen office to express concern about the expedited reunification. Staff respond that “she isn’t your daughter” and “being poor isn’t a reason for someone to not have their children.”

October 19, 2019

• Oakley has her first unsupervised visit with Bowers and Carlson.

October 26, 2019

• Oakley tells her foster parents she saw Bowers hit Carlson. Fries replies there are “no concerns.”

November 6, 2019

• Fries emails confirming Oakley will reunify with her parents even earlier than planned, with a new date of November 29.

November 9, 2019

• Oakley spends her first overnight visit with Bowers and Carlson.

November 13, 2019

• Assault 4 charges against Carlson are dismissed.

November 17, 2019

• Erik Hiles emails DCYF staff about the accelerated timeline. There is no reply.

November 29, 2019

• Oakley is officially reunified with Bowers and Carlson after 26 months in foster care.

December 6, 2019

• Oakley turns three.

Reunified Household and Decline in Oversight (2020–2021)

June 3, 2020

• DCYF closes Oakley’s dependency case.

June 24, 2020

• According to later court filings, attorneys received copies of DSHS letters stating Jordan Bowers and Andrew Carlson had completed court-ordered services.
• However, the filing also stated:
• Counsel had not received written documentation directly from treatment agencies
• CPS records indicated Jordan Bowers received two domestic violence assessments
• One assessment recommended one year of treatment
• Another later assessment reportedly concluded services were unnecessary
• The filing additionally stated CPS believed Bowers was not honest in reporting domestic violence.
• CPS also reportedly expressed concerns that the parents were failing to meet the medical needs of one of their disabled children and had missed appointments despite receiving assistance such as a gas card.

July 27, 2020

• Court records cite an earlier CPS report expressing concern that Bowers and Carlson falsified treatment documentation and neglected a medically complex sibling.

August 2020

• Last refill of a sibling’s prescribed medication.

September 2020–December 2021

• Parents stop administering that medication altogether.

December 6, 2020

• Oakley turns four.

December 25, 2020

• Oakley visits grandparents Fred and Kate Carlson. Her grandmother later tells police Oakley “didn’t look well,” noting dark circles and sores on her face.

Renewed Concerns and Final Sightings (2021)

January 2021

• DCYF received a report alleging Oakley had scratches and bruising on her face.
• The referral was screened in for investigation.
• According to court records, both parents refused to cooperate with investigators.

January 26, 2021

• Jamie Jo Hiles contacts DCYF after seeing a photo of Oakley with a black eye. Intake worker Morgan Artis dismisses the report.

January 27, 2021

• DCYF conducts a home visit and records a “verified sighting.”

February 10, 2021

• The Grays Harbor Sheriff’s Office logs this date as Oakley’s last credible sighting by anyone outside her immediate family.

March 24–31, 2021

• DCYF calls Jamie Jo Hiles again but closes the case without seeing Oakley.

November 2021

• Multiple referrals were reportedly made concerning a fire at the Carlson home.
• Allegations included:
• Emergency services were never called
• The family continued living in the residence despite warnings it was unsafe
• According to appellate records, the referrals were screened out.

November 6, 2021

• Carlson calls dispatch to report a fire at the family home, claiming Oakley started it with a lighter.

November 10, 2021

• School principal Jessica Swift visits the home and is told Oakley is “in her room.” She does not see the child.

November 17, 2021

• A GoFundMe is created for Bowers after the fire. Jamie Jo Hiles emails and calls DCYF to report the suspicious fundraiser but receives no response.

November 18, 2021

• Jamie Jo Hiles sent a detailed email to DCYF employees Angela Fries and Kathryn Eddy expressing serious concerns for Oakley and her siblings.
• Hiles stated:
• Oakley had previously been her foster daughter from September 2017 to November 2019
• She questioned whether reunification had been appropriate
• She had previously contacted CPS in January 2021
• She believed abuse was occurring in the home
• Hiles described the recent house fire and wrote: “Those children had to have died in that fire.”
• She further stated: “CPS and DCYF are at fault and will not only be in huge legal trouble, but the public relations fallout of not PROTECTING those children will be massive.”
• Hiles urged authorities to investigate immediately.

Late November 2021

• According to later dependency filings:
• Jordan Bowers allegedly told Oakley’s school that Oakley started the house fire.
• School personnel later made multiple visits to the home and did not see Oakley.

November 24, 2021

• Swift returns to deliver supplies and sees the other children but not Oakley.

November 30, 2021

• Parents later claim this was the last time they saw Oakley alive.

December 4–5, 2021

• Swift hosts Oakley’s sibling for a sleepover. The child says, “Oakley is no more,” prompting Swift to contact law enforcement.

Early December 2021

• School staff contacted law enforcement after:
• Failing to see Oakley during repeated visits
• Receiving concerning statements from sibling DC

December 6, 2021

• 10 a.m.: Tumwater Police interview Bowers and Carlson at a hotel.
• 12 p.m.: Forensic analysis later shows Bowers’s phone was factory-reset around this time.
• 3:31 p.m.: Parents return home and report Oakley missing.
• 5:10 p.m.: Bowers is booked for obstruction and suspicion of manslaughter.
• 9:30 p.m.: Carlson is booked on similar charges.
• DCYF contacts Jamie Jo Hiles about possible emergency placement for Oakley’s siblings. This day is Oakley’s fifth birthday.

December 7–10, 2021

• Searches of the family’s 300-acre property take place with state and federal assistance. Tests later confirm methamphetamine exposure in both younger siblings.

December 12–17, 2021

• The “Oakley’s Law” petition garners thousands of signatures and legislators begin discussing reforms.

December 30, 2021

• Bowers and Carlson are charged with abandonment of a dependent person. Rallies are held outside the Grays Harbor County Courthouse.

Judicial and Investigative Developments (2022–2023)

January 10, 2022

• Both parents plead not guilty to abandonment charges.

January 20–28, 2022

• Prosecutors add two counts of child endangerment after methamphetamine results.

February 7, 2022

• Both plead not guilty to endangerment charges.

March 14–28, 2022

• Carlson pleads guilty and is sentenced to 12 months.

April 6, 2022

• Bowers is denied telephonic visits with her children.

April 8–22, 2022

• Bowers pleads guilty and is sentenced to 20 months.

May 27, 2022

• Governor Jay Inslee requests that the Office of the Family and Children’s Ombuds (OFCO) review DCYF’s handling of the Carlson case.

June–July 2022

• Bowers is transferred to state prison. Advocacy groups and foster parents continue to testify before oversight boards.

September 9, 2022

• OFCO releases its official report. It finds DCYF acted within policy and law but notes deficiencies in visitation support and reunification planning. It confirms Oakley was in foster care from 2017 to 2019 before being returned to her biological parents.

August 1, 2023

• The Washington Court of Appeals (Division II) issues a published opinion allowing the Grays Harbor Sheriff’s Office to access sealed dependency records for its criminal investigation. Records remain sealed from the public but can be used by law enforcement under RCW 13.50.010(18).

Recent Status and Oversight (2023–2025)

January 15, 2023

• Bowers is released from prison and re-arrested for identity-theft and fraud charges.

January 18, 2023

• House Bill 1397, known as The Oakley Carlson Act, is introduced to strengthen standards for child reunification following abuse or neglect cases.

February 10, 2023

• On the second anniversary of Oakley’s last sighting, supporters hold a rally at the Washington Capitol to promote the bill.

February 17, 2023

• The bill receives a hearing but dies in committee.

May 3, 2023

• The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children releases an age-progression image showing Oakley as she might appear at age six.

July 24, 2023

• Jordan Bowers pleads guilty to three counts of first-degree identity theft and one count of second-degree identity theft.

August 7, 2023

• Judge Katherine Svoboda sentences Bowers to 43 months in prison, followed by 12 months of community custody.

September 13, 2023

• Bowers is transferred to the Washington Corrections Center for Women in Gig Harbor.

2024–2025

• Oakley remains missing and presumed deceased, although no remains have been located. The Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office continues to treat the case as an active criminal investigation. Advocacy groups, legislators, and the Hiles family continue to campaign for passage of the Oakley Carlson Act and broader DCYF reform.

Primary Sources

• Washington Office of the Family and Children’s Ombuds, Investigation Report Regarding Oakley Carlson (September 9, 2022).
• Washington Court of Appeals, Division II, In the Matter of the Welfare of O.C. and D.C. (August 1, 2023, No. 56609-5-II).
• Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office press statements, 2021–2024.
• Governor Jay Inslee correspondence to OFCO, May 27, 2022.
• Verified court filings and DCYF documentation referenced by oversight boards and the OFCO report.