The State of Idaho took our Baby

Levi and Marissa Anderson’s lives were joyful; they had recently been blessed with their first baby, a healthy boy named Cyrus.

Cyrus was born the picture of health and remained so for the first seven and a half months. Gradually, Marissa began weaning him off of breastfeeding and started feeding him solid foods. Cyrus, however, was unable to eat anything other than breast milk and would throw up anything else they tried to feed him.

Concerned, Marissa and Levi took Cyrus to the doctor to find out why he could not keep down solid food. When the first doctor could not diagnose it, Levi and Marissa began visiting other doctors and specialists.

One day in March 2022, Cyrus started throwing up again. The next day, Levi and Marissa took him to the hospital. The hospital weighed Cyrus and found that he had lost weight since his last weigh-in. The nurse asked them to come back the next day for another weight check.

Marissa woke the following day feeling ill and called the hospital. She left a message asking if they could reschedule the appointment. The hospital called her back later, but Marissa missed their call.

Then, without trying to contact her again, the hospital called CPS and made a report of neglect. CPS then called the police, and two officers made a visit to Levi and Marissa, asking them to accompany them to the Center for Victims of Abuse. Levi and Marissa refused to go anywhere with them, and the officers soon left.

Shaken by what had happened, Levi and Marissa went to the house of a family friend who was a former police officer to ask his advice on the matter.

After spending the evening with their family friend, they were driving home when police cars converged on them. Levi pulled into a gas station parking lot, and their car was surrounded by multiple police officers. Levi was removed from the car, handcuffed, and held in a nearby police car.

Marissa implored the officers to explain what was wrong and why they were being arrested. The officers said they had received a report of child abuse and that they needed to transport Cyrus to a hospital. Marissa told the officers why she had missed that day’s appointment.

Marissa continued to plead with the officers not to take Cyrus away from her, telling them that she could not let him go. The officers promised her that they would not take Cyrus away from her and that she could ride in the ambulance with him to the hospital.

Marissa then agreed to get in the ambulance with Cyrus, where she was met by a detective. The detective reneged on the promise she could stay with Cyrus and told her that she could not accompany Cyrus, who was being taken into custody by the state. Again and again, Marissa begged the detective not to take Cyrus away from her, but her pleas went unheard, and Cyrus was forcibly taken from her arms.

The ambulance then took Cyrus to the hospital, and Levi and Marissa were released.

The next day, Levi and Marissa’s friends and family rallied outside the hospital and called on the hospital and CPS to release Baby Cyrus back to his parents.

Under pressure from the local public and several local politicians, the hospital finally agreed to release Cyrus back to Levi and Marissa. However, they informed them that he was still under the legal control of the state and that CPS would be making all the decisions regarding his healthcare.

As these events made nationwide news, Heritage Defense Foundation became aware of the situation and reached out to Levi and Marissa, offering to help them fight to get Baby Cyrus back into their legal custody and out of the control of the state. Levi and Marissa gratefully accepted their offer.

Heritage Defense Foundation funded a local attorney, who fought for CPS to fully close the Andersons’ case and leave them alone.

Finally, after several months, the attorney funded by Heritage Defense Foundation convinced CPS to close the case. A judge dismissed it, and the Andersons’ legal custody of Cyrus was fully restored.

If you are a member of Heritage Defense, we hope it is an encouragement for you to know that your membership is going to help families like the Andersons. While we cannot guarantee outcomes, if your family is ever falsely accused of child abuse or neglect, we are ready to fight to defend you and your rights. 

If you are not yet a member, please join today to have 24/7 access to experienced attorneys ready to defend your family.