DA drops kidnapping charges against father

Kidnapping charges against a California man who did not return his daughter to her mother after a planned visit in early January have been dropped, according to the Churchill County District Attorney’s office.

Deputy District Attorney Benjamin Newman said no court order existed to prevent Inshan “Shan” Ross from taking his 14-year-old daughter out of state. Several months after the incident, Lawson said the Nevada Supreme Court shed additional information on both the rights of unmarried couples and the rights of their children.

The incident occurred on Jan. 4, when the Fallon Police Department responded to a 911 call regarding a child custody case and possible kidnapping. Once officers arrived at the East Virginia Street address, they learned the father was trying to reconnect with his daughter, and that the mother, Stacey Bowles, allowed Ross a visitation for a set period of time earlier in the day.

When Ross did not return his daughter, Bowles filed a missing child report.

Capt. Ron Wenger of the FPD said he learned Ross had taken his daughter to Southern California, so he notified the San Bernadino Sheriff’s Office. San Bernadino deputies arrested Ross at his home near Running Springs, Calif., and took the girl in custody on Jan. 7.

Wenger, though, said both law enforcement agencies were involved with a difficult situation.

“It’s a very complex custody issue based on differing state laws,” Wenger said in a January interview.

Because the parents were never married when the girl was born, Wenger said Nevada gives sole custody to the mother whereas in California, both the mother and father are listed on the birth certificate.

In several emails sent to the Lahontan Valley News, Ross said he was accused of kidnapping.

“Her mother lied and filed a false report with the Fallon PD,” Ross said of the charges.

In a subsequent email, Ross also sent a report from the Clark County District Court in Las Vegas which was filed on Sept. 8, 2009, which established him as father of the girl.

“As you can see by the attachment, paternity was established in 2009, giving me equal parental rights,” Ross pointed out.

As for Ross taking his daughter out of state, he said he wanted to protect her.

“I was arrested for protecting my daughter who was being abused physically and mentally, according to the CFS (Child and Family Services) report I received prior to me taking my daughter from her mother,” he said. “This is the original report that was given to me by my attorney. CFS never took my daughter away from her mother, nor did they ever notify myself as to what was going on with my child.”

CFS declined to discuss the case because it involved juveniles.

Ross provided the LVN with a copy of the CFS report, dated Dec. 12, 2013, that outlined the mother’s alleged abuse against her daughter and other children in the household. The report also detailed domestic problems between Stacey Bowles and her husband, Robert Bowles.

The CFS conducted a search to identify an appropriate placement for the children that would eliminate the need for protective custody and placement in foster care. CFS conducted a criminal check on Ross and his girlfriend but declined to place the daughter with them.

“Due to the findings, the Division of Child and Family Services was unable to make placement with them,” stated the report.

Ross said when his daughter was taken to CFS in December, he was told he could take his daughter.

“While we were on our way to Fallon from San Bernardino, we got another phone call telling us not to come because they said I couldn’t take my daughter because i had a traffic ticket failure to appear warrant for me,” Ross said in another email

Ross claims the real reason he wasn’t allowed to have his daughter is because he wanted to take her to California.

The CFS report further identified a “present danger” in the Bowles’ Fallon home due to Robert Bowles disappearing from the family; Stacey Bowles’ arrest and incarceration; the Bowles’ failure to maintain heat and hot water in their home; and the children routinely being left home alone to care for and protect themselves. In addition, the report cited the domestic violence that occurred in the home on a regular basis.

CFS recommended the court place the children in the legal and physical care, custody and control of the CFS with the discretion to place the children in an appropriate setting.

The report also stated Stacey Bowles allegedly said Ross had abused her when they were together, an accusation Ross denies.

“And she says that I was physically abusive towards her. That’s a bold lie,” Ross said. “I never put my hands on her or any woman for that matter.”

Ross claims Bowles allegedly had drug problems in 2000 and was taken to Sunrise Hospital in Las Vegas.

“That’s when I took my daughter to live with me. And she continued to live with me until she was 4 and a half,” Ross said in one of his last emails to the LVN. “I love my daughter with all my heart. I just want her back home. Her mom took her and disappeared right after I was arrested for supposedly kidnapping my daughter. I don’t know where she is.”

CFS confirmed on Monday that Stacey Bowles has left the area and no longer resides in Fallon.

“It’s frustrating to protect my daughter, then to have her mom take her and disappear again,” Ross added.