Wednesday, August 14th 2013, 9:33 pm
A native Oklahoman is traveling with the adoptive parents of "Baby Veronica" in an attempt to end the custody battle.
He helps reunite families and has made dozens of national TV appearances.
Troy Dunn has made a career of finding lost family members.
It started when he located his mother's biological mother. Now, he's back home in Oklahoma and put himself in the middle of the baby Veronica case. He stood on the same stage as Matt and Melanie Capobianco Wednesday, during a news conference.
Dunn was raised in Enid. For the last two decades, he's called himself "The Locator." He even parlayed that into a television show for five years on WeTV.
Dunn is in Tulsa as part of the Capobiancos' effort to gain custody of Veronica Brown.
"My challenge is to attempt to make this all stop and to bring some level of closure to two families who love the same little girl," Dunn said.
8/14/2013 Related Story: 'Baby Veronica' Adoptive Parents Hold News Conference In Tulsa
Dunn has been working with the South Carolina family for a little more than a year. He said he can relate to Veronica's case, because when he was a child his family adopted his little brother, who was also Native American.
Dunn said his family lived in fear that his family would be split up because of the Indian Child Welfare Act.
Last October, Dunn appeared on the Dr. Phil Show, highlighting Veronica's case. There, he argued before a Cherokee Nation attorney that the little girl's Native American heritage is in question.
"Have you told Dr. Phil how much of this child's blood is actually Indian? Because I think we're leading people to believe this is an Indian baby. This child is more Hispanic than Indian, more white than Indian," Dunn said.
Dunn continues to appear on Dr. Phil and a film crew came with him to Oklahoma.
He also promotes his locating service. Troy The Locator offers several free services, but there's also a $189 fee for a professional to search databases.
His Facebook page has several posts talking about Veronica Brown.
In June, he declared "victory" when the Supreme Court sent the case back to South Carolina, and said this of the ruling: "It is also a loud and clear message to fathers who abandon their children at birth...no take backs!"
Dunn invited Dusten Brown to meet with him all by himself to talk about custody.
Brown's attorney did not return our phone calls when we asked if such a meeting would happen.
August 14th, 2013
September 29th, 2024
September 17th, 2024
November 19th, 2024
November 19th, 2024
November 19th, 2024
November 19th, 2024