Progress and hope, but still no family for adopted boy who was returned to Ukraine
Adopted boy who was returned to Ukraine is still in Duluth facility
BY MARY DIVINE
Pioneer Press
Article Last Updated: 12/08/2007 04:04:49 PM CST
Jeff and Michelle Bignell married in 1994. Seven years later, they adopted two unrelated children at a Ukrainian orphanage - the then-7-year-old boy and a 4-year-old girl. The Bignells were aware Ukrainian doctors had diagnosed the boy with hyperactivity disorders, according to social worker Maggie Hansen's sworn petition filed in Washington County District Court. The Bignells told officials the boy had a hard time adjusting to the structure and rules of family and school after the new family settled into its Lakeland home, blocks from the St. Croix River, according to Hansen's petition. Deputies responded twice to reports he had run away or tried to....
When Washington County authorities heard the story, they were shocked. A Lakeland couple who had adopted a troubled 7-year-old Ukrainian boy apparently had returned him to his native country. County officials worked for a year to bring the boy back to Minnesota. Finally, a Ukrainian court cleared the way, and a Washington County social worker flew to Ukraine and retrieved the boy in December 2006....
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