An enigmatic mystery came to a startling end last week when the kidnapped Baskin children were found in California after being missing for two decades.
Grandfather Marvin Maple, who 20 years ago with his now deceased wife, ran away with two minor children of Mark and Debbie Baskin, has been returned to Rutherford County to faces charges of kidnapping.
The Maples were long concluded to have spirited away Christie and Bobby Baskin, for whom they were caring while the Baskin parents were attending college, but until last week it was not a proven fact.
We now know the Maples, who had made serious allegations against the parents, including their daughter that were totally refuted by investigation and court findings, did indeed flee with the two grandchildren, apparently setting up a new life with new identities in California and living successfully.
We know they left the Baskin parents and other family members to suffer what had to be 20 years of long, mind-numbing emptiness and worry.
We know what the Maples did totally conflicts with the laws that apply to us all and must be followed within the legal means available to avoid total chaos, unimaginable damage to children and society and potential threats beyond measure if we allow child custody issues to be resolved by personal decisions and actions.
We know the suffering and angst for all concerned arising from this most bizarre case is more than most of us can comprehend.
What we don’t know is the motivation of the Maples in such an obviously desperate act.
To deny a daughter access to her two minor children, even knowledge of their well-being, to cut themselves off apparently from other family members, to flee far away and be forced to establish new lives would seem to require an unfathomable degree of concern.
Maple will face criminal charges of kidnapping that must be proven in a court of law, a totally different reality from what we might conclude from the facts we now know.
After wondering for so long what happened to the two Baskin children and why, answers in some form would now seem forthcoming.
Rutherford County Sheriff Department’s Cold Case Unit has notched another remarkable victory.
Sadly, while justice may be served as defined legally, the anguish and suffering for all directly connected to this case can likely never as healed.
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