Mystery deepens in search for sick girl taken from hospital
PHOENIX (AP) - The mystery surrounding the whereabouts of a sick girl with leukemia deepened Wednesday after her father said his 11-year-old daughter is being treated in Mexico and authorities considered bringing child neglect charges against the family.
Phoenix police have been looking for Emily since surveillance video one week ago showed the girl's mother walking her out of Phoenix Children's Hospital a day before the child was set to be released.
Authorities are searching for the girl in Arizona, California and Mexico, where the family has relatives, as doctors say she could contract a potentially deadly infection if not returned for treatment.
The girl underwent about a month of chemotherapy and had been treated for an infection that forced doctors to amputate her arm, police said. Doctors had inserted a tube through her chest to deliver medications through her heart. Her mother unhooked the tubing from an IV and left with the girl, leaving her susceptible to infection.
Phoenix police said the parents could face criminal neglect charges if they didn't return the girl.
U.S. Border Patrol agents stopped the father, Luis Bracamontes, 46, as he crossed into Arizona from Mexico over the weekend, but the man denied any involvement in removing his daughter from the hospital and said he didn't know where she was.
However, in an interview this week with NBC News, Bracamontes said his daughter was safe and being treated by doctors in Mexico.
"She is well and she is fine," he said while declining to reveal where the girl was being treated.
Bracamontes blames the Phoenix hospital for the loss of his daughter's arm and says the family was being pressured over mounting medical bills. He displayed photos of the girl both before and after the surgery and talked on his mobile phone to a girl and a woman he claimed were his daughter and wife.
The hospital cannot comment on Emily's condition due to health privacy laws, but in a statement Wednesday said decisions about patient care are not based on ability to pay.
"Phoenix Children's Hospital is deeply concerned about Emily's safety and well-being and continues to cooperate with law enforcement," the hospital statement read. "If Emily's family has questions about her care, we encourage open communication and discussion of options with the care team."
The girl's grandfather, Luis Bracamontes, said he has not talked to his son in 15 days and doesn't know where the girl is - including if she is even in Mexico.
"We are worried because we don't know what's going on," said Bracamontes, 76, in Spanish from his home in San Jose, Calif.
He doesn't know why the girl was taken from the hospital but said the amputation might have had something to do with it. He said some of his relatives are assuring him that the girl is fine and getting good medical attention.
Bracamontes said his son sometimes lived in San Jose and sometimes in Phoenix. The family is originally from Mexico.
Phoenix police, meanwhile, say the story of the girl's father raises even more red flags.
"We're in the same spot we were in last Thursday when we began looking for her," police Sgt. Steve Martos said Wednesday. "We understand the right of a parent to change doctors, to change hospitals, we're not challenging that. We just want to make sure that Emily is getting the right medical attention that she requires to prevent this potential horrific ending."
Martos said doctors in Phoenix told authorities that if Emily's catheter is not tended to, it could make her susceptible to a deadly infection that could kill her in a matter of days.
Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, said Emily's immune system is already compromised from the cancer and chemotherapy.
"If bacteria get into the blood stream, that can cause a serious infection," Schaffner said.
The open catheter could serve as a pathway for bacteria, he said, adding that a potentially deadly infection is not only possible, but likely.
Martos said the father's story only adds to investigators' bewilderment that began when the mother inexplicably removed the child from the hospital. He said surveillance video shows the mother and child getting into a dark-colored minivan, but the license plates on the car were registered to a different vehicle.
"It all just makes us even more curious that they're unwilling to provide us with basic information to confirm what he is saying, and they're still trying to hide Emily," Martos said. "There's certainly the potential for some criminal charges."
"So we're going to continue looking for her until we either run out of leads or she is found," he added. "We can't just drop it."
Phoenix police have been looking for Emily since surveillance video one week ago showed the girl's mother walking her out of Phoenix Children's Hospital a day before the child was set to be released.
Authorities are searching for the girl in Arizona, California and Mexico, where the family has relatives, as doctors say she could contract a potentially deadly infection if not returned for treatment.
The girl underwent about a month of chemotherapy and had been treated for an infection that forced doctors to amputate her arm, police said. Doctors had inserted a tube through her chest to deliver medications through her heart. Her mother unhooked the tubing from an IV and left with the girl, leaving her susceptible to infection.
Phoenix police said the parents could face criminal neglect charges if they didn't return the girl.
U.S. Border Patrol agents stopped the father, Luis Bracamontes, 46, as he crossed into Arizona from Mexico over the weekend, but the man denied any involvement in removing his daughter from the hospital and said he didn't know where she was.
However, in an interview this week with NBC News, Bracamontes said his daughter was safe and being treated by doctors in Mexico.
"She is well and she is fine," he said while declining to reveal where the girl was being treated.
Bracamontes blames the Phoenix hospital for the loss of his daughter's arm and says the family was being pressured over mounting medical bills. He displayed photos of the girl both before and after the surgery and talked on his mobile phone to a girl and a woman he claimed were his daughter and wife.
The hospital cannot comment on Emily's condition due to health privacy laws, but in a statement Wednesday said decisions about patient care are not based on ability to pay.
"Phoenix Children's Hospital is deeply concerned about Emily's safety and well-being and continues to cooperate with law enforcement," the hospital statement read. "If Emily's family has questions about her care, we encourage open communication and discussion of options with the care team."
The girl's grandfather, Luis Bracamontes, said he has not talked to his son in 15 days and doesn't know where the girl is - including if she is even in Mexico.
"We are worried because we don't know what's going on," said Bracamontes, 76, in Spanish from his home in San Jose, Calif.
He doesn't know why the girl was taken from the hospital but said the amputation might have had something to do with it. He said some of his relatives are assuring him that the girl is fine and getting good medical attention.
Bracamontes said his son sometimes lived in San Jose and sometimes in Phoenix. The family is originally from Mexico.
Phoenix police, meanwhile, say the story of the girl's father raises even more red flags.
"We're in the same spot we were in last Thursday when we began looking for her," police Sgt. Steve Martos said Wednesday. "We understand the right of a parent to change doctors, to change hospitals, we're not challenging that. We just want to make sure that Emily is getting the right medical attention that she requires to prevent this potential horrific ending."
Martos said doctors in Phoenix told authorities that if Emily's catheter is not tended to, it could make her susceptible to a deadly infection that could kill her in a matter of days.
Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, said Emily's immune system is already compromised from the cancer and chemotherapy.
"If bacteria get into the blood stream, that can cause a serious infection," Schaffner said.
The open catheter could serve as a pathway for bacteria, he said, adding that a potentially deadly infection is not only possible, but likely.
Martos said the father's story only adds to investigators' bewilderment that began when the mother inexplicably removed the child from the hospital. He said surveillance video shows the mother and child getting into a dark-colored minivan, but the license plates on the car were registered to a different vehicle.
"It all just makes us even more curious that they're unwilling to provide us with basic information to confirm what he is saying, and they're still trying to hide Emily," Martos said. "There's certainly the potential for some criminal charges."
"So we're going to continue looking for her until we either run out of leads or she is found," he added. "We can't just drop it."
A parent should have the right to seek whatever medical care they choose. The let "western Medicine" do its harm, now hey are seeking another method. That is not neglect, that is choice. Anyone, Anyone!! can leave the hospital without the "permission" from the hospital, the doctors, the media, or the people who comment on articles. (except those who are legally incarcerated or held for menta health illness) I am fully supportive of a parents right to choose which method of medical intervention they choose. If we had a sick child, we too would look for alternatives when the first choice created even greater harm. These parents do not owe anyone an explanation for where or who is treating their child. It amazes me how much we invade others privacy and then scream when their privacy is invaded.
Also, nothing has indicated that the parents were evading the bills. It takes 10 days after discharge for the hospital to even bill. Maybe we should not jump to our biased conclusions and pay attention to the actual facts.
A lot of you are defending the family, when I do not think you should. They removed their daughter a day before she was going to be released, why? Couldn't they have waited the 24 hours, after their daughter was secured for travel...rather than having an untrained person (the girl's mother) disconnect medical equipment, and take her daughter into the world with a tube leading straight to her heart? Whether you are concerned over medical bills or not, your responsiblity as a parent is to ensure your child's safety. Removing her and sticking her into a van and taking her, potentially, to Mexico does not seem to be the girl's best interest. Am I missing something here?
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Also, the family is faced with medical neglect because they did not operate under their daughter's best interests, AND no record of her has yet to be found. Why don't they simply tell authorities where their daughter is? They do not need her for the hospital to charge the family with a bill, since they at the very least know where the father is. What exactly would revealing their daughter's location harm? Wouldn't it help, since the hospital can then forward her medical records?
Parents have the RIGHT to treat their children in whatever manner they deem best - that IS NOT NEGLECT!!!! The government and the medical profession DOES NOT HAVE THE RIGHT to make those decisions for the family, much less to charge them with neglect because they chose not to follow the doctor's advice. This is so backwards - and just shows how arrogant our medical professionals and government have become!!
It appears that western medicine has failed and the family is seeking alternative medicine in Mexico that is likely much more effective. I mean western medicine has only done harm to them, yet they want to charge these people with medical neglect!?Â
I think this hospital should be charged with medical neglect because they are not "curing" anything at all! What a joke! They should have the right to choose whatever medical care they want, and its obvious it wasn't working out for them.
 @portlandborn83 From what I've read on the story, it's not just that 'western medicine has failed', it's that the family quickly discovered that the financial repercussions were going to swamp the rest of their family.Â
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IE- Emily MIGHT beat the cancer (there is never any guarantee with such procedures), but the bills from the procedures would definately exceed their ability to pay for the rest of their, and their childrens, and their grandchildrens lives.Â
'The hospital cannot comment on Emily's condition due to health privacy laws, but in a statement Wednesday said decisions about patient care are not based on ability to pay.'
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No, but after the treatment they will foreclose the families house and garnish their wages for the rest of their natural born lives if they are unable to pay. Besides, we can either write-off any unpaid debt, sell it to collections for a percentage of the total debt, or bill medicade for the services.Â
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A part of me wonders if there is still a financial incentive for the Drs in the US. Things like billable hours and consultation fees that could be charged to Medicare/insurance if they are in contact with her new medical facilities.Â
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It's sad that we live in a country where people can (and often are) forced to decide between their (or their childs) lives and their financial futures. I don't know if there is an obvious, or easy, solution. But, I've seen first hand what a long-term (cronic) medical condition can (and often does) do to someone financial security. When only apparent question comes down to 'what price does one put on life', there's something seriously wrong with the system.Â
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I pray for Emily and her family, and have sincere sympathy for the decisions that her family has to make regarding her care.Â
The hospital wants to trace where the mother is so they can get their money for her stay. Mexico has good health care and perhaps they want to bury her there. The middle class in Mexico is not covered by healthcare and the poorest are, so it sound as though they got an alternative they can afford.
 @Phyllis DeSoto So what? Should have gone about it in a different way. They jeopardized her health which is problem number one, and then they shafted their bill? Problem number 2. Would you like it if people skipped out on bills because they can get a cheaper alternative?
Oh that would be kind of difficult to miss such attachments?
 @lee986321 No. Most of it can be covered by clothing. It would be more noticeable that the girl was missing an arm.
father said his 11-year-old daughter is being treated in Mexico and authorities considered bringing child neglect charges against the family. How in Hell can it be Medical Neglect? I think this is a case of clean cut and out right lies.
and if You can't read She is getting medical care and then, Authorities stating medical neglect, then you seriously have an issue..Now that she is in Mexico (which I think the whole thing was planned) , I don't think they have a case of "Medical Neglect"
 @lee986321 It is "Medical Neglect" as long as the US doesn't have proof that the child is being treated medically and appropriately. If the girl is in Mexico, for example, it is doubtful that those doctors treating her (if she IS being treated) actually know what she's had done in the US. Doing this responsibly would be to at least get copies of the girl's medical records to provide to a new doctor (medical personnel) providing treatment.
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I'm not sure I understand why you feel the case is full of lies.
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Based on the information provided in this article, it seems that at least the father and the daughter are US citizens, too. As US citizens, the US authorities have to look out after their interests -- especially with a medically fragile child.
 @CTWU  @lee986321 >'Based on the information provided in this article'
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Unless it has to do with an incendiary topic, a celebrities sex life or addicitons, or divisive political rhetoric, Fischer communications is hardly a exhaustive informational source. You might do some research on the story, from beginning to this point.Â
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 @CTWU The father is from Mexico, but has a US work visa. I read that in a different story.Â
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Just an FYI...=)