Struggling financially as a single mother, Kelly Helton considered giving her second daughter up for adoption shortly after giving birth on Oct. 20, 1992.
More than three years later, however, she fights daily in hopes of seeing her daughter Zenith again. The Scottsdale, Ariz., hairstylist is receiving regular therapy to battle her depression."She's all I think about," Helton said.
But she didn't lose Zenith through adoption. Helton believes the child was abducted in October by Helton's mother and stepfather, Donald and Connie Hanes of Provo. The Hanes are the same people who fought desperately for more than three years to adopt Zenith.
"This isn't about me being an unfit mother," Helton said. "It's about my mom's obsession to have another child."
The Hanes were last seen on Oct. 17 walking down an airport terminal in St. Louis, Mo., with Zenith and Helton's 16-year-old brother, Michael Dowd. The day before they were in Arizona visiting Zenith.
FBI officials in Arizona confirmed Friday that the Hanes are wanted for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. Scottsdale police charged them last year with felony counts of custodial interference and kidnapping.
Even though her mother likely abducted her daughter, Helton has a hard time being angry. She said her mother is probably acting on a religious belief that she needs to have a child with Donald Hanes, her sixth husband. Helton said her mother asked for one of her eggs a few years ago so she could conceive another child.
"I think she believes that what she is doing is right," Helton said.
Still, Helton is concerned about her daughter's safety.
"I'm not worried about her not being fed or something like that, I'm worried about the pyschological damage. Zenith knows who her real mother is," she said.
Helton will appear on the "The Maury Povich Show" Wednesday to make an emotional plea for the return of Zenith. She'll soon appear on the "Unsolved Mysteries." The custody battle over Zenith started before the child was even born. In exchange for an adoption agreement, the Hanes promised to put Helton through college and provide other financial help. Helton had just broken up with the child's father, and her self-esteem was at an all-time low. The offer for help sounded good.
"I didn't have a husband and a nice white picket fence," she said. "And who do you go to when you need help? You go to your family."
Three weeks after Zenith's birth, Helton traveled to Utah from Arizona and signed an adoption consent form prepared by the Hanes' attorney. The form gave Helton six months to change her mind, a provision not allowed under Utah law.
Helton lived with the Hanes for a few months but never relinquished custody of Zenith. In January 1993, she decided not to grant the adoption and returned to Arizona with her two children. A few months later, Connie Hanes traveled to Arizona and wanted to bring the child back to Utah. Helton refused and hired attorney Stephen Hutchinson to challenge the adoption consent.
The custody battle intensified in July 1993 when Connie Hanes met Helton at the Salt Lake International Airport, grabbed Zenith and ran down the con-course.
"It was crazy. Here I am yelling, `Stop, she's stealing my baby,' while she's running down the concourse waving the adoption form," Helton said.
Airport security gave the baby back to Helton and allowed her to return to Arizona with her children. However, a Provo judge signed an order a few days later giving temporary custody to the Hanes. The child was taken from Helton in Arizona and returned to Utah.
For more than a year Helton only had visitation rights. But after a lengthy legal battle, 4th District Judge Guy R. Burningham ruled in January 1995 that custody of Zenith belonged to Helton. The Hanes were awarded nine hours of unsupervised visitation per week.
Helton and her attorney believe the Hanes are still in Utah.
Anyone with information about the Hanes or Zenith can call the FBI or contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 800-843-5678.