EMERGENCY PETITION: Stop the Judicial Kidnapping and Endangerment of Five Children in Montrose County, Colorado
The Crisis: Six Months of Illegal Detention and Active Endangerment: Five minor children—Cala, Miranda, Hunter, Gregory, and Phillip Jr.—have been held in state custody for over six months, a period marked not by protection, but by documented constitutional violations, official fraud, and exposure to an alleged abuser. This family is demanding an immediate state-level investigation, the dismissal of the corrupted Dependency and Neglect (D&N) case (2025JV3001), and the immediate return of the children to their mother and safe maternal grandparents.The Foundation of the Case is Illegal
 The Montrose County Department of Human Services (DHS) built its case on a lie and an illegal act:The Unlawful Taking (Kidnapping):On March 7, 2025, over a month before the official case was filed, DHS Caseworker Noah Crosby seized the minor child Hunter Malone (whose legal father is in Denver and is notPhillip Roach Sr.). Caseworker Crosby illegally bypassed the legal father and handed custody of Hunter to Phillip Roach Sr., a non-guardian who is now alleged to be an abuser. This act was an illegal, pre-petition transfer and endangerment by a state official.The Tainted Evidence: All biological evidence used to justify the D&N case was collected without a warrant or judicial consent on or around this illegal March 7th date, making the entire case "fruit of the poisonous tree."The Concealment: The mother was illegally kept from her children for over a week after the main seizure, with the caseworker concealing their whereabouts, further violating her constitutional rights.
  The Ongoing Systemic Failure and Child Abuse Cover-UpDespite being informed of the dangers, the system continues to perpetuate harm:
FINANCIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST (The Profit Motive):The Department's resistance to free, safe kinship care is due to the privatization of foster care services. The County is demonstrably contracting with private, for-profit entities for placement (easily verifiable via public Montrose County contracts). The continuous detention of these five children directly funnels state and federal funds to these private contractors, creating a financial incentive to keep the children from their family and facilitate their permanent adoption/sale into the private foster care system, fundamentally corrupting the goal of reunification. Abuse Testimony Ignored: On May 5, 2025, the children provided specific, documented testimony during a forensic interview detailing abuse by Phillip Roach Sr. DHS ignored this testimony and continued to allow unsupervised visitation. Fraudulent Involvement: The Special Respondent, Crystal Swala, who was allegedly present during the May 5th abuse testimony, is deeply compromised. She has a known history of Medicaid fraud resulting in a license loss, is facing a harassment charge from the mother, and is implicated in the fraudulent transfer of a minor child’s Social Security benefits to Phillip Roach Sr. Her role is a catastrophic conflict of interest. Active Endangerment: The current Caseworker, Daxton Bushee, is actively facilitating the abuse. He continues to allow unsupervised visits with the alleged abuser, ignores the clear pleas of Hunter Malone who states he does not want contact, and is actively pushing for kinship adoption by the alleged abuser, Phillip Roach Sr., despite all documented evidence. Ignoring Kinship: The stable, fit maternal grandparents have been denied placement for six months, forcing the children into unnecessary foster care and resulting in documented trauma confirmed by their therapy records. Demand for Immediate ActionThe Montrose County Juvenile system has demonstrated a catastrophic failure to protect children, prioritize kinship, and uphold constitutional rights. We demand that state and federal authorities take immediate action:Immediate Dismissal of the entire Dependency and Neglect case (2025JV3001) based on the illegal seizure and tainted evidence.

Immediate Investigation and Sanctions against Caseworker Noah Crosby and Caseworker Daxton Bushee for misconduct and willful endangerment. Immediate Disqualification and Investigation of Special Respondent Crystal Swala for fraud and conflict of interest. Immediate Placement of the children with their safe maternal grandparents, Yvette Lindsey and Gregory Malone, pending the return to their mother.This systemic corruption must end. The children are not safe in the hands of this Department. every signature brings us one step closer to reuniting these children with their loved ones and safeguarding them from further harm. Please add your voice to ours in this critical appeal for justice and reform.