A Snapshot of Washington’s Broken CPS system-Child Death

Oakley Carlson,4, went missing in February 2021 in Oakville, Washington. She was declared dead on October 6, 2025.

She was placed with foster parents Jamie Jo Hiles and her husband Erik in August 2017, when she was 9 months old.

“Washington’s Department of Children Youth and Families (DCYF) has a goal of limiting the time a child is in foster care and finding a permanent home as quickly as is safely possible. But in Oakley’s case, months turned into a year, turned into two years. In the care of the Hiles, Oakley grew from an easy-going infant into an energetic toddler.”

“But in November 2019, nearly 26 months after Oakley had come to live with them, the Hiles were suddenly notified that she was being reunited with her biological parents. Weeks later, on the day after Thanksgiving, that reunification happened.”

“A child welfare case is closed within six months of a child being returned to their biological parents — presuming the parents are complying with the conditions set by the courts. That six-month mark would have been reached around May 2020.

The last confirmed sighting of Oakley was nine months later, in February 2021. But Oakley wasn’t reported missing until months later — in December 2021, after a fire damaged the family’s home forcing them to temporarily relocate. That’s when a local school principal became concerned after talking with one of Oakley’s siblings.

On December 6, Oakley’s fifth birthday, police were sent out to do a welfare check. Det. Sgt. Paul Logan of the Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office said Oakley’s parents were uncooperative when asked about their daughter’s whereabouts.

“The responses to the fairly simple questions that were asked were met with hostility and answers that didn’t make any sense,” Logan said.

Oakley was declared missing and the sheriff’s office sought a search warrant for the family’s sprawling rural property near Oakville, Washington.”

“That search last December lasted several days and turned up evidence, but not Oakley or her body. Nonetheless, her parents — Andrew Carlson, a former Aberdeen police officer, and Jordan Bowers — were briefly held in jail on suspicion of manslaughter. While formal charges were never filed, the couple was later prosecuted for crimes related to their treatment of their other children.

This spring, both parents were sentenced after pleading guilty to child endangerment with a controlled substance for exposing their kids to methamphetamine.

Logan, the sheriff’s investigator, said the investigation into Oakley’s disappearance continues with the help of the FBI. At this point, he said, the assumption is she’s dead. Logan said investigators continue to work to gather the evidence they need to present a case to prosecutors.

“In this case, everyone’s concerned and everyone is looking at the situation like this is wrong,” Logan said. “But at the same time, there’s no law on the books for something just being wrong.”

Logan said he has no information on how DCYF handled Oakley’s child welfare case. However, Hiles is convinced the agency failed Oakley. She said the reunification in late 2019 felt rushed. She also questioned whether DCYF — in the midst of the Covid pandemic — adequately monitored the family after reunification, and whether the agency followed up when she reported additional concerns to caseworkers and Child Protective Services about Oakley.

“DCYF and the state of Washington, they should be sweating bullets because I know that once that information is public, I know that people are going to find out that they have completely dropped the ball,” Hiles said.

While DCYF won’t comment on specific cases, one of the agency’s strategic priorities is to reduce the number of children and youth in out-of-home care by half. When safely possible, the agency prioritizes reuniting children with their biological parents. If that’s not achievable, then DCYF will seek the termination of parental rights and identify another permanent placement, such as with next-of-kin or an adoptive family. The final decision on a placement rests with a judge who relies upon information provided by child welfare caseworkers.”

“Complaints about DCYF are investigated by the Washington state Office of the Family and Children’s Ombuds. In an interview, Director Patrick Dowd said he’s aware of the Oakley Carlson case, but couldn’t confirm if his office is investigating how it was handled. Dowd explained that child welfare cases create a tension between the public’s desire for information and the family’s privacy.

“The Oakley Carlson case has led to community calls, and even a petition, for more oversight of families following reunification. State Rep. Tana Senn, a Democrat who chairs the Children Youth and Families Committee in the Washington House and serves on a DCYF oversight board, said she’s followed the case closely and talked with community members. But Senn isn’t convinced state law needs to be changed in response to what happened to Oakley. Instead, she expects, if and when Oakley is formally declared dead, there will be a formal child fatality review.

“Meanwhile, Hiles has written to Gov. Jay Inslee asking him to order a review into the state’s handling of Oakley’s case. Inslee’s office declined to comment, citing state and federal privacy laws and the ongoing police investigation. Pressed on the matter, and specifically the question of accountability, a spokesperson for Inslee, Mike Faulk, responded via email: “Fine morning to cast aspersions.”

The Oakley Carlson case is not the first to raise questions about the state’s family reunification protocols. In 2010, following a case in which a foster family cared for a girl for four years before she was returned to her birth parents, then-Gov. Chris Gregoire “ordered a full external review of the child welfare system as it relates to this case,” according to reporting by KING 5 News.

Hiles said she’s concerned DCYF has become so focused on reunification of families that the agency has lost sight of its core mission. She added that she hopes something good can come out of Oakley’s case.”

Case of missing Washington 5-year-old highlights secrecy around CPS cases
[KUOW 5/11/22 by Austin Jenkins]

“Jordan Bowers, the mother of missing 5-year-old Oakley Carlson, was sentenced to 20 months in prison Friday for two counts of child endangerment with a controlled substance.”

Jordan Bowers sentenced to 20 months on charges unrelated to daughter’s disappearance
[King 5 4/22/22]

Oakley Carlson’s foster mother speaks out after daughter declared legally dead
{My Northwest 10/6/25 by Julia Dallas]

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