Incarcerated Mother: Truth Amidst Custody Dispute

On April 15th, 2023, the Virginia State Police issued an Amber Alert for a missing 9-year-old girl. Fortunately, the alert was later deactivated after the girl was found safely with her mother, Bethany Gould, during a routine traffic stop in Georgia. However, nearly a year later, Bethany Gould remains incarcerated in a Hampton Roads Jail without bail.

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Reports from the Hampton Roads Area, like this article from Wavy TV 10, suggest that the child was taken amidst a custody dispute. According to these reports, Bethany Gould believed she had joint custody and disputed losing custody due to an abuse allegation made against her the year before. Despite her assertions of innocence, she remains detained.

Adding complexity to the situation, claims from the Gould family challenge the presented narrative. They assert that Bethany Gould had custody of her daughter and question the validity of temporary orders issued by Newport News Virginia Courts, arguing that both mother and child were residents of Alabama, not Virginia. Allegedly, during a visit to Virginia, the child's father obtained a custody order from Newport News Courts, although jurisdiction typically follows residency, which requires six months to establish.

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Making jurisdictional questions even harder to understand, Bethany's mother says that she was "founded" for an abuse and neglect case by Georgia DFCS. This has led to more confusion as only the traffic stop occurred in Georgia, as again the family are residents of Alabama.

Moreover, the Gould family alleges discrepancies in the custody orders provided, contending that the documents indicate Bethany Gould had custody of the minor. This case, entangled in multiple jurisdictions, allegations, and a strained family court system, appears to be a recipe for confusion and discord.

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Bethany Gould's mother claims to have reached out to major news outlets in the area where her daughter is detained but received no response, leaving their side of the story untold. Meanwhile, Bethany spends her time researching and compiling information to support her case, communicating her findings through letters to her mother.

In the midst of conflicting narratives, unresolved legal complexities, and the emotional toll on the individuals involved, the question remains: Was this a case of child abduction, or a tale woven with elements of truth and fiction? As with many contentious situations, the truth may lie somewhere in between, awaiting further scrutiny and examination.