Found Kauai girl
is ‘overwhelmed’Kauai police say the 11-year-old
has just learned her real name
LIHUE >> The woman who was reunited with her 11-year-old daughter on Kauai on Thursday after a five-year separation will not automatically be allowed to take the child back to Florida, a Kauai police lieutenant said yesterday.
At a news conference, Lt. Dean Pigao said the decision about what will become of Angeline Hoercher lies with Child Protective Services and maybe with a Family Court judge.
Elke Hoercher is spending time with her daughter, Angeline, under CPS supervision, Pigao said.
"She was anxious to see her mom, but she was overwhelmed," Pigao said.
"Our concern is Angeline," Pigao said. "All of this has been overwhelming to her. Her life was completely turned around on Wednesday.
"All she knows is her dad. All of a sudden, all of this happens," he added.
Angeline and her father, Jon Bryan, now 45, disappeared in 1998 from Florida and have been living on Kauai ever since. Jon Bryan used the name Johnny Lee, and his daughter was known as Lana.
Bryan was arrested by Kauai police Wednesday. Police in Delray Beach, Fla., received a tip he was on Kauai. Pigao said the Delray Beach police knew from the informant where Bryan was living and that his daughter was a student at Kapaa Elementary School.
Pigao said Wednesday was the first time she was told her name was Angeline. She had been called Lana for half her life and had forgotten her real name.
Angeline has not seen her father since he was arrested on Wednesday, Pigao added.
Pigao said there still are some questions about who was awarded custody of Angeline when Hoercher and Bryan were divorced in 1996. Some sources have said the mother had sole custody; others said shared custody. It appears clear Bryan cared for the child for long periods of time before they disappeared.
"We want to see some actual paperwork," he said.
Meanwhile, the Kauai County Prosecutor's Office filed a notice with the Circuit Court that Bryan is in custody and awaiting extradition. Bryan, who is being held without bail, is scheduled to make his first court appearance Tuesday.
