PIERCE COUNTY, Wash. — Caregivers who were accused of taking four vulnerable adults from a Spanaway group home will not be charged with kidnapping or criminal mistreatment, according to the Pierce County Prosecutor's Office.
The prosecutor's office said a kidnapping charge was "problematic" because one caregiver, who was in distress, and sought to turn over her patients to the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) but was denied help. The other caregiver appears to be a vulnerable adult, according to the prosecutor's office.
"It is regrettable that a caregiver seeking help from DSHS was denied it, and that fact makes proving a case like this beyond a reasonable doubt problematic," said Pierce County Prosecutor's Spokesperson Adam Faber said. "We are gratified to know these vulnerable adults are safe and are in new placements."
DSHS disputed the prosecuting attorney's claim that they denied help to the caregiver, saying they attempted to find emergency placements for the vulnerable adults, but the caregiver left the DSHS office without giving contact information, according to DSHS Media Relations Manager Chris Wright.
DSHS said they are conducting their own investigation of the incident regardless of the prosecutor's decision. DSHS confirmed all of the vulnerable adults involved have been placed in new homes.
The caregivers and four vulnerable adults were reported missing on Monday. They were last seen at the DSHS office just before 3 p.m. where one caregiver reportedly expressed concerns about her safety and the safety of her clients at the group home.
The adults and caregivers were found at a Tacoma hotel on Wednesday after one caregiver emailed DSHS letting them know where they were staying.
The caregivers were initially booked into the Pierce County Jail on suspicion of kidnapping and criminal mistreatment. Pierce County sheriff's deputies said the vulnerable adults were without a place to shower or running water to brush their teeth for multiple days while they stayed in a van.
However, the prosecutor's office said the investigation did not produce evidence that the adults were deprived of "the necessities of life" while away from the home.