Family seeks to bring granddaughter home amidst custody battle
JACKSON, Tenn. — After an almost two-year search for their granddaughter, two WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News viewers reach out to us after they say their search for answers has led to dead ends.
“It’s been a roller coaster ride,” Roy Trice said about the journey to bring Ra’Niyah home.
It’s a trip Trice said begins with a custody battle across two West Tennessee counties.
On Wednesday, one binder, two folders and dozens of documents outline the family’s fight to see the six-year-old.
“We’ve made numerous trips to Memphis. We’ve had no success in the courts,” Trice, Ra’Niyah’s grandfather, said.
Roy Trice and his significant other, Kim Mack, said photos, memories and prayer are all they have to hold as each day passes. He said it has been “618 days and counting” since he’s heard from his grandchild.
“She’s very energetic and she loves ballet. She would always have to perform for us,” Mack said when remembering the little girl.
According to court documents, Roy Trice II was granted primary custody of his daughter Ra’Niyah in February 2014.
The Trice family said that’s when visitation rights granted to the child’s mother, Joscelyn Stokes, began to become problematic. “We went over to get the child and the child wasn’t there,” Trice said.
Stokes allegedly lives in Shelby County. Trice said the couple were never married during the course of the relationship.
Legal documents shared with WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News by the family show the custody case begins in Shelby County before being transferred to Chester County in 2015.
Multiple court orders say the child is to be returned to live with the Trice family in the city of Henderson. “The reason why we’re here is because the system failed him,” Mack said.
“I would like to see that the state of Tennessee state legislature enact laws that will give fathers rights,” Trice said.
While acknowledging the relationship between a mother and a child is important, Trice said fathers should not be overlooked. “The child would not exist without the father, and fathers love children just like the mothers do.”
Staff at the Chester County Juvenile Court said the Chester County Sheriff’s Office has made several unsuccessful trips to find the girl in Memphis.
Trice said they don’t suspect the worst, but they aren’t completely convinced Ra’Niyah is still living in the Bluff City.
As far as the family knows, Ra’Niyah could be living in Atlanta, Chicago, Las Vegas or Arkansas, according to the Trice family. They said Stokes has family in all those locations.
The family set up a Facebook page in hopes of getting social media support for their mission.
“She’s to know we will always love her and will never give up on finding her,” Mack said.
This is a story we’ll continue to follow. Stay with WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News for the latest in our investigation.
