Hannah Bridgeport was at home with her nine children, fixing lunch while her kids worked on schoolwork or played in the backyard. Their backyard was fenced in, and Hannah’s husband, Kyle, kept the yard gates secured with locks out of reach of the younger children.

But one of the older children accidentally left one of the gates unlocked, and two of the younger children slipped out.

A stranger was walking by and spotted the two children on the Bridgeport’s driveway.

The lady brought the children back to the house. Hannah thanked her, telling her that they kept their yard gates locked and she had no idea how they had gotten out.

The lady seemed understanding, telling Hannah she had several kids of her own and understood that accidents happen.

As it would turn out, however, the lady was not as understanding as Hannah had thought.

The next day, Kyle answered a knock at their door to see a CPS investigator standing there.

From what the investigator said, the report had come from the same woman who had returned the children the day before. The lady had reported to CPS that Hannah had appeared drunk and that one of the children had been holding a knife.

Both of these allegations were false and utterly ridiculous. Hannah does not drink, and never has. On top of that, she was, in fact, pregnant. And the “knife” the child had been holding was a spoon.

Kyle and Hannah immediately called the Heritage Defense 24/7 emergency hotline.

One of our attorneys began walking Kyle and Hannah through what to do next. The investigator had stated that she wanted to conduct an official meeting that afternoon, but our attorney advised the Bridgeports to tell the investigator that they would like to wait on that meeting until their local attorney could be present.

The investigator agreed and left, leaving her contact information.

Our attorney then advised Kyle and Hannah to collect references from their friends and family, as well as their family doctor, attesting to their parental abilities.

Kyle and Hannah went to work right away. Kyle also secured the backyard gates with better locks, ensuring that nothing like the previous day’s incident could happen again.

Heritage Defense then connected the Bridgeports with a local attorney. She reached out to the caseworker immediately and arranged for the meeting to take place at her office, on the family’s terms, with counsel present.

That meeting went well. When the caseworker asked to meet the children, the local attorney arranged a brief meet-and-greet at a nearby park. That visit also went well.

When the caseworker then asked to see the family’s home, the local attorney held firm: a home visit had nothing to do with the allegations. There would be no home visit.

Soon after, CPS officially closed the case with no findings against Kyle and Hannah.

Kyle and Hannah shared their experience with Heritage Defense:

An innocent mistake and a stranger’s distorted report brought a CPS investigator to the Bridgeport’s door.

Kyle and Hannah were never prepared for this, but thankfully, they were not alone.

Heritage Defense exists to ensure that Christian homeschooling families do not have to face these investigations alone.

If you are not already a member, learn how Heritage Defense can protect your family from an unfounded CPS investigation.