"They are supposed to be protecting my kids, but they just proved that they can't," Logan's father William Dollison said.
Editor's note: This article was originally published on January 31, 2022. It has since been updated.
Logan Dollison had to be placed in foster care soon after his birth because his mom, Lindsey Householder, was hospitalized. According to PEOPLE, Logan was placed with a family, but he was found dead on January 7, 2022. Now, authorities in Athens County, Ohio, are investigating how a baby died while in the care of Athens County Children Services. Meanwhile, the mother, 30, told NBC4 that Logan was "thriving" during doctor checkups and supervised visits—and that she learned about his hospitalization via text the night before he died. "I was told he was in hospital in Columbus, but I was under a (snow emergency)," she said. "I couldn't make it."
Apparently, Householder had no idea she was pregnant until she went into labor. "I didn’t know I was pregnant with him." When she was in the bathroom, she realized the baby was coming out. She said, "We went to the hospital. We got there by squad. Everything was fine with Logan. They ran all kinds of tests, made sure everything was fine with both of us, and the next day CPS (Child Protective Services) came in and took him."
However, it is unclear why the little one was sent into foster care. On January 5, Logan reportedly was taken to the doctor for a weight check, where he was fine. However, the parents were not notified of this doctor's visit. The following day they were supposed to visit Logan at 10 a.m. but they were informed that it was canceled. Apparently, the little one had not been eating and his caregiver was taking him to the doctor.
Householder said that they asked if they could go to this doctor's appointment but she was told that they would need to wait for the caseworker's approval. All this while, Householder was texting Logan's foster mom for updates.
On January 6, 11:50 p.m. she received a text saying the baby's condition had worsened. “At midnight, she finally texted me back and said that his heart had stopped and they couldn’t get it back,” Householder said. Logan was barely three weeks old when he died. “We did not get to identify Logan. We didn’t get to see him or anything until the day before his funeral,” Householder said.
Logan's father, William Dollison, said that he had other children taken away by children's services that he is fighting to get back. Meanwhile, Athens County Children Services declined to disclose details of Logan's case and the case files remain sealed. However, Logan's family is grappling to come to terms with the little one's death.
"They are supposed to be protecting my kids, but they just proved that they can't," Logan's father, William Dollison, told WKBN-TV. "They let my kid die, and they don't have no explanation, no nothing for it."
An angry Dollison then added, “If it was me, I’d be behind bars right now until I could prove my innocence. I’d be behind bars. It wouldn’t matter what it is … if he was in our custody. That’s how it would have been. But for them, they still get to walk the street.” An update from the Athens County Sheriff's Office suggests that they have opened an investigation into the newborn's death. However, no arrests have been made in the case, and no suspects have been publicly named.
"This is an open investigation," Captain Bryan Cooper of the sheriff's office told reporters. "It's a thorough investigation. All resources that we can [spare] will be put forward to determine the death of Logan."
References:
https://people.com/crime/ohio-newborn-dies-suddenly-in-social-services-care/
https://www.wtrf.com/news/ohio-headlines/ohio-sheriff-investigating-death-of-newborn-in-foster-care/
https://www.wkbn.com/news/ohio/ohio-sheriff-investigating-newborn-death-in-foster-care/
Cover Image Source: YouTube | NBC4 Columbus (Parents of baby who died in foster care share anguish, frustration)
