Even now, though, in part because of her mother's deceptions, Courtney's fate remains in limbo.

"My sister completely lied to them," Scarborough said Friday, the day the Florida Department of Children & Families released 885 pages of records detailing Courtney's painful past.

The paperwork also exposes how officials were slow to catch up to Clark, a 23-year-old mother with four daughters now who ran for years from the law, parenthood, a rocky marriage and a troubled childhood.
Jailhouse Bond

A month after Candice Clark learned she was pregnant with Courtney, her second daughter, she married the baby's father, Brandon Clark, a 19-year-old man. They served time in April 2004 in the Hopkins County Jail in Kentucky on the same charges.

The pair were involved in a scam, pretending they were victims of a fire to get financial assistance from the local Red Cross. Brandon Clark was a "kid," though, Candice Clark later confided to child welfare workers in Florida. He didn't even stick around for Courtney's birth, she said.

In February 2006, Clearwater Police arrested Clark, who was pregnant, and her boyfriend, Michael Sisk, on fraud and identity theft charges. Clark had 20 charges and 15 outstanding warrants waiting for her in Kentucky. She had stolen the identity of Ruth Porter, a former corrections officer at the jail where Clark was incarcerated.

The Clearwater arrest left Courtney without shelter. Records show caseworkers contacted relatives in Kentucky to take Courtney and her sister Alize, born the month after her arrest. They tried with Brandon Clark, who was in jail; Candice Clark's mother, Ruth Farris; and another sister, Sondra DeLaney.

Farris, who was caring for Clark's oldest daughter, eventually declined to take any more of her babies. She told caseworkers her daughter stole from her, leaving her in debt.

"Candice's life has been a disaster, especially the last four years," Farris told caseworkers in Florida.
Missed Opportunity

DeLaney, the sister in Kentucky, wanted Courtney and her newborn sister, who was Sisk's child. No one, though, contacted the nearest relative, Scarborough, a 30-year-old stay-at-home mother with four children and living in Florida. "I was right here," Scarborough said. "And I wanted them."

The Safe Children's Coalition in Pinellas County worked out agreements with Kentucky authorities to check out DeLaney's home and background. Meanwhile, caseworkers placed Courtney in a series of three temporary foster homes, including one where Courtney received injuries later determined to be caused by abuse.

In Kentucky, there were concerns. Clark told workers the child had been molested by DeLaney's then-husband and that Clark's mother, Farris, wouldn't let her tell authorities. DeLaney told workers that when she discovered this, she filed for divorce. DeLaney was still a candidate for caregiver.

On March 13, 2006, Courtney was reunited with her mother, who said she had a job as a certified nursing assistant and was living with a friend. The reunion didn't last long. Clark was arrested again in July on grand theft charges and extradited to Colorado.

She told caseworkers she wanted her girls to live with friends Cynthia and Mark Martell of Sorrento while Florida awaited approval of her sister in Kentucky. The Martells were the parents of Michaela Clerc, a former roommate of Clark's who later would be arrested with Clark in Wisconsin.
Red Flags Mount

The Martells had two former abuse complaints lodged against them; both were deemed unfounded, although one was closed with "some indicators," meaning there wasn't enough proof to substantiate it. A Seminole County sheriff's investigator signed off on the review. Courtney and 4-month-old Alize went to live with the Martells.

In August, Mark Martell flew to Colorado to bail Clark out of jail.

Other red flags were rising. Safe Children's Coalition learned that Clark had a history with Kentucky's child welfare department beginning in June 2002, when investigators checked a complaint that Clark wasn't properly feeding her older daughter, Alexis. Investigators ruled the complaint was unfounded.

In March 2003, it was alleged that Clark suffered from the psychological condition known as Munchausen syndrome by proxy after she brought Alexis to the emergency room and left against medical advice. A review of hospital medical records found Clark had made a number of trips to the emergency room with her daughter.

A month later, Clark was accused of a domestic violence incident, but investigators were unable to locate the victim. It happened again a year later, but again, the victim couldn't be found. In January 2005, a report alleged that Courtney was living with her mother in a home where methamphetamine was being made. Nothing was found, the report said.

The following month, Clark refused to let a local hospital treat Courtney and left again against medical advice. Clark later told authorities she took Courtney to a different doctor.
Fake Letterheads

Still, Safe Children's Coalition pushed to reunify Clark with her daughters, devising a case plan that included parenting classes. Clark appeared to be complying with the plan, her caseworker noted. Later, it was discovered that Clark had used fake letterheads to show proof she attended parenting classes.

On Oct. 4, the Martells called their caseworker and told her Clark had taken the girls 10 days earlier. Cynthia Martell later said she tried to report it sooner but someone at the front desk of Safe Children's Coalition hung up on her. Martell guessed that Clark was headed to Grand Junction, Colo., where she had a court date.

The next day, caseworker Carmen Caballero contacted the state attorney's office in Pinellas County, where she was instructed to get a pick-up order for Colorado. Authorities there missed Clark by minutes, they said. Two months later, she was living in Portage, Wis., and had had another baby.

Caballero said she also tried to report Courtney as a missing person with the Lake County Sheriff's Office in January, but the agency refused to take a report over the phone. The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office took the report and faxed the information to Lake County.

Meanwhile, efforts to keep up with Courtney's paperwork continued.

A court document dated December still noted that the best place for Courtney and her sister to live would be back with the Martells.

Three months later, Lake County detectives helped track down Clark and Sisk in Wisconsin. Courtney had been missing for nine months.

On Monday, Marion County child welfare workers inspected Scarborough's five-bedroom home on 7 acres along Lake Bryant. Her mother and stepfather live next door.

Courtney and her two sisters would have another set of grandparents and a great-grandmother living nearby.

Scarborough already has bought two cribs and a bed.

"These kids have been done wrong," she said. "And I'm going to fight for them. They will be loved."

Researcher Diane Grey and reporter Catherine Dolinski contributed to this report. Reporter Sherri Ackerman can be reached at (813) 259-7144 or

sackerman@tampatrib.com.