Custody Fight Over Former Oklahoma Girl Moves To South Carolina High Court

A legal battle over the custody of a 2-year-old girl born in Oklahoma is set to go before the South Carolina Supreme Court.

Veronica was taken away from her adoptive parents on New Year's Eve.

A South Carolina couple, Matt and Melanie Capobianco, adopted the girl as a newborn.  But her father, a member of the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma, fought for custody and won through the Indian Child Welfare Act which is designed to keep Native American families together.

Dusten Brown of Bartlesville originally signed away his parental rights as he was deploying with the Army, but days later started fighting to get Veronica back.

Brown says Veronica's mother hid her plans to put the little girl up for adoption.

The Capobiancos say it's not fair to rip Veronica from the only family she's ever known and have until Thursday to file their first briefs with the South Carolina Supreme Court.

1/5/2012 Related Story: Cherokee Nation Defends Federal Law In Multi-State Child Custody Battle

Brown left South Carolina with Veronica on December 31, 2011 and headed back to Oklahoma after a state appeals court judge ruled in his favor ordering the Capobiancos to turn the child over.

Efforts to reach Dusten Brown have been unsuccessful.

A web site, www.saveveronica.org, and a Facebook page have been set up to help in bringing her back to South Carolina.