On Tuesday, four-year-old Veronica was returned to her adoptive parents by her biological, Native American father. The father and the adoptive couple have been in a long custody dispute, but the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled that Dusten Brown, the father, must return Veronica to the South Carolina couple.
Matt and Melanie Copobianco adopted Veronica in 2009 when she was born, but Brown began a battle to get his daughter back, using the Indian Child Welfare Act to eventually get custody of her in 2011. The Copobiancos did not give up though, and have fought for two years to get her back.
The couple released a statement saying how relieved they were after the court ruling, and how “they cannot wait to bring Veronica home and begin the healing process as a reunited family.”
According to his attorney, Brown made a “peaceful and dignified” transfer of his daughter to the Copobiancos, and said: “Although this is not something any parent should ever have to do, we could not be more proud of the dignity and courage with which he carried himself.”
