Joseph and Amy Belton were enjoying a family trip to the beach when an accident turned their vacation upside down.

Enjoying the sunny day, they were driving on the beach with several of their children in the bed of the truck with Amy’s parents.

Suddenly, the truck went over a small hill in the sand that was not visible until it was too late. The vehicle landed hard, bouncing everyone in the truck bed all different directions.

The grandparents and several of the children were injured. Joseph immediately contacted emergency services.

Several members of the family were taken to the hospital. Thankfully, all of the injuries were minor and everyone was recovering fine.

A state trooper asked Joseph and Amy a some questions and determined they had not been speeding or driving recklessly and that this was simply an unfortunate accident. No tickets or citations were issued.

They assumed everything was over until several days later when they got an unexpected visitor.

While the family was still dealing with doctor visits and recovery, a CPS investigator came to their home.

Joseph and Amy were not home when CPS first arrived. They were still out of town finishing up doctor visits with a couple of the younger children. Amy’s parents were staying with the rest of the Beltons’ children, so the investigator left a business card with them and planned to follow up.

Joseph immediately reached out to Heritage Defense.

One of our attorneys spoke with him that same day, walking him through what to expect and how to handle any contact with CPS.

We then contacted one of our local attorneys to represent the family.

Our local attorney then contacted the CPS investigator, who wanted to schedule a home visit, including interviews with the parents and children.

The parents chose to agree with these requests, so our local attorney attended the home visit and monitored the interviews, ensuring the investigation stayed focused on the actual facts. She then prepared a detailed letter to CPS, outlining exactly what had happened.

The attorney supported the family’s account with evidence as well as references vouching for Joseph and Amy’s parenting.

After reviewing the facts, CPS officially closed the case as unfounded.

Looking back on the experience, Joseph and Amy shared their thoughts:

The Belton family never expected a day at the beach to lead to a CPS investigation. Heritage Defense exists to ensure families are not left navigating stressful moments like these on their own.

If you are not already a member, learn how Heritage Defense can protect your family when the unexpected happens.