Through an exclusive interview of an estranged family member, more information has come out on Friday about the story of the missing 13-year-old child, Jessie Bender from Hesperia, California who was hiding so she wouldn't be taken to Pakistan for an arranged marriage.
At first, authorities thought that Jessie Bender, had run away to be with an online predator, but it turned out that her Uncle had her stashed at an Apple Valley motel, so that her mother wouldn't take her to Pakistan for an arranged marriage. Melissa Bender, Jessie Bender's mother, kept that very important information about the planned trip to Pakistan from authorities. She told the police that she was taking Jessie to Pakistan for a two-month visit so she could see the native homeland of her boyfriend, Mo.
Through an unnamed estranged family member of Jessie Bender, who is personally aware of the circumstances surrounding her disappearance, new information has been obtained from an email document:
Examiner.com: How did you find out about the arranged marriage?
Family member: I learned through other family members that Mike was told two days before they were suppose to go to Pakistan, that Jessie was going to be married off to Mo's brother over in Pakistan because he was in some trouble and they wanted to bring him over to the states. They were going to get paid $3000 for this.
Examiner.com: Who is Mike and who is Mo?
Family member: Mo is Melissa's (Jessie's mother) boyfriend. He is married to another girl in Texas. That is why they (Melissa and Mo) are not married.
Mike is Jessie's uncle, and he is the reason Jessie is doing so good in school. Jessie and her younger brother, John are living with him. Him and another uncle might have charges brought up on them, but these guys are hero's in my book.
Examiner.com: Has Melissa ever gone to Pakistan?
Family member: Melissa did go to Pakistan last year for a visit, for I believe it was 6 months, in which she told me she would never go back there again. Then all of a sudden she is all ready to go back again, and this time to take Jessie during school.
Examiner.com: Does Melissa practice the Muslim religion?
Family member: All her kids have the Muslim religion thrown in there (sic) face when they aren't even Muslim.
Examiner.com: How many children does Melissa have?
Family member: Melissa has six kids from six different dads, well really five, but she won't do a DNA on Jacob, because one of her kids, Austin, she lost custody to the grandma, and they think Jacob is her brother. So she has four kids living with her and two that she lost custody of. She has had 13 cases open and closed with nothing found with CPS (Child Protection Services). All of it was about abuse of her kids.
At one point, Melissa thought she was going to lose custody of the children, so she gave a power of attorney for all of her children to one of the children's dad, because she thought CPS was going to take them away.
Examiner.com: Has she ever taken any other of her children to Pakistan?
Family source: She went with her daughter Fatima, which is Mo's kid, and her son, Jacob, I believe went. I heard the State Dept. was called to block a passport that Melissa had gotten for her daughter, Allie, by using old court papers.
Examiner.com: How is Melissa's relationship with her children?
Family source: The three kids, Jessie, John and Allie have a very close bond. They would never run from there (sic) mom unless they were in total fear of something bad and still I don't know if they could leave. Jessie wouldn't have left her mom unless her mom told her some bad news about Pakistan.
Examiner.com: Where is Jessie and the rest of the kids now?
Family source: The children have been released from Child Protection Services to a friend of Melissa's. Melissa only needs to do Parental Classes for the 5 millionth time and move out of Mike's house, to get the kids back. [Today] Jessie has been removed from where she was at to another location.
According to "National Plan of Action for Children 2005," published by the Department of Women and Child Development of India, a goal has been set to eliminate child marriage completely by 2010. In spite of this, the tradition is still practiced in areas of Pakistan through child marriage customs like Vani, Watta Satta and Swara. As recently as 2010, a six-month-old baby was married to a 25-year-old man.
Do you have a loved one who is missing and need my help getting their story told? If so, send me your story and pictures of your missing loved one, and I will feature the story on my Missing Persons column on the Examiner and also on my blog, Missing Persons of America.
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