4 missing children sought, custodial interference charge for Olalla man

A 37-year-old Olalla man was charged with a count of custodial interference last month after he didn’t return his four children to their mother, according to court documents. The children have been reported as missing.

Joshua Lee Susee was supposed to return the children to the care of their mother on March 2 but did not, she said in court documents, and Kitsap County Superior Court Judge Tina Robinson signed an order on March 8 directing law enforcement or Child Protective Services to return the four children to their mother. In petitioning for the order, the mother said she believed they were at addresses in Olalla; Lebanon, Oregon; or Hillsboro, Oregon.

“Currently, I have no idea where the children are or if they are safe,” she wrote in a court document dated March 7, noting that she was concerned about whether one of the children was receiving necessary medication for a heart condition.

She added: "I am also afraid because Josh has a history of domestic violence, and I am worried he could harm the children if they are not immediately returned to my care."

Prosecutors later charged Susee with the one count of first-degree custodial interference, a felony, in Kitsap County Superior Court on March 23, and Judge Kevin Hull approved a warrant for his arrest and set his bail at $1 million the same day.

The youths were entered into state and national databases as missing children, a Kitsap County Sheriff’s deputy wrote in a report dated March 22, noting, “At this time, the children may be in Olalla, Cle Elum, or in Oregon.”

Sheriff's office spokesman Kevin McCarty said Tuesday that investigators last heard that Susee was in Oregon and noted that authorities there were unable to locate him. The children are ages 10, 10, 6 and 3 and all have the last name of Susee, he said.

“They are still not where they’re supposed to be,” McCarty said.

The deputy noted in the report for the custodial interference charge that the mother was arrested following a January report that she had assaulted one of her children but said that case had been reviewed by prosecutors and the state's Department of Social and Health Services and no charges had been filed “so far.”

Kitsap County Prosecuting Attorney Chad Enright said Tuesday that his office had not yet made a charging decision in that matter and said that prosecutors have asked for additional investigation from law enforcement.

Following Robinson's order, deputies initially went to Susee’s address on Stevens Road in Olalla and found a vehicle there that was registered to him but did not locate him or the children, according to court documents. Attempts to contact Susee and his girlfriend by phone were unsuccessful. A school resource officer reported that the children missed school from March 3-9, and Susee’s employer said he had not been to work since March 2.

The police department in Lebanon, Oregon, assisted sheriff’s deputies by visiting a residence in that area but found no evidence to suggest that any children were staying there, according to court documents.

A deputy later spoke with Susee’s mother and noted in a report: “She has not seen Joshua and doesn’t know where he is. (She) said that when Joshua left, he told her not to expect to see them again. (She) continued that the system failed the kids and that the mother is abusive. Then stated that Joshua is just trying to protect them.”

The deputy said in the March 22 report that Susee, his girlfriend and the four children had not been contacted since a March 2 hearing and that calls to Susee's phone had not been answered since then.

The two parents have previously accused each other of child abuse in court documents. The mother petitioned for a protection order against Susee in 2019, seeking to protect herself and the four children, and a one-year order was granted. He sought a protection order on behalf of his children against their mother in January of this year, but that request was denied on March 2, with the finding that there was insufficient evidence for such an order.

This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: 4 missing kids sought, search for Washington man in Oregon