Found girl on Kauai
in custody of motherThe girl's father faces kidnapping
charges and is held on Kauai
LIHUE >> The Florida woman reunited last week with her kidnapped daughter after a five-year search has been granted custody of the girl, officials said yesterday.
Elke Hoercher may depart as early as today for Delray Beach, Fla., with her daughter, 11-year-old Angeline Bryan-Hoercher, Kauai police Lt. Dean Pigao said through county spokeswoman Cyndi Ozaki.
Hoercher was reunited with her daughter on Thursday -- the first time they had seen each other since the girl's father allegedly kidnapped her in 1998. That man, Jon Michael Bryan, is still being held on Kauai and was scheduled to make a court appearance today.
Angeline had been in the custody of state Child Protective Services and only allowed to meet with her mother under supervision. She stayed with a foster family until officials determined it was safe to grant Hoercher custody.
According to the FBI, Bryan picked up his daughter from her mother for a scheduled visit on June 28, 1998. But when Bryan was due to return the girl a month later, the FBI said, the two had disappeared.
There was no word on when Bryan would be extradited to Florida.
