Mother Of Abducted Girl Prays For Court To Return Daughter

The mother of a girl police say was kidnapped from a Dothan doctor's office this week was trying to get her daughter back after the pregnant teen was removed from her home by the Department of Human Resources.  Investigators now believe Julie Bethke may have been involved when her 15-year old daughter, Aileen Lander, was taken from the office of Dothan OBGYN located in the doctor's building at Southeast Alabama Medical Center.

Aileen was in DHR care when a man police say is Aileen's stepfather, Charles Partin, rushed inside and grabbed the girl.  While investigators are still calling the incident a kidnapping, they say privately the girl may have gone willingly with Partin and Bethke, who investigators was waiting outside SAMC when Aileen was grabbed..  She was accompanied to the doctor's office by a Barbour County DHR worker.

In Facebook postings the mother, Julie Bethke, discusses her daughter removal from the home by DHR. "Ailene's pregnant and child protective services took custody of her," Bethke wrote September 11.  The posting suggests Aileen was removed from her Barbour County home Thursday, September 6.  A response to Ailenne's social media post, that appears to come from a relative, inquires about Aileen's pregnancy. 

There was apparently a hearing scheduled last Friday regarding a possible return of Aileen to her home. "I have a hearing to go to for the judge to decide what he wants to do," Bethke's posting said.  It's not clear if the hearing was held since those proceedings are not public record.  However, because Aileen was still under DHR control Monday, it's obvious she was not returned home.

Another post by the girl's mother states "Ailene, not a day passes that we don't think about you or wish you were home. Doing everything we can to make it possible for you to come home. We love and miss you so much baby girl. Keep praying that everything goes how (word(s) omitted)  we are praying it does. Love you endlessly baby girl."