Huxley often appeared on Myka Stauffer's social media channels. Photo / You Tube
Huxley often appeared on Myka Stauffer's social media channels. Photo / You Tube
Huxley Stauffer, the little boy whose story went global when his adoptive "influencer" parents announced they had chosen to rehome him, is happy and safe in his new home, authorities have revealed.
She adopted the boy from China in 2017 knowing that he had special needs, telling followers he had "brain damage".
But after years with Stauffer, her four biological children and her husband, little Huxley vanished from her social media.
'Justice for Huxley'
Some of Stauffer's hundreds of thousands of followers noticed and began to ask the popular influencer what happened to the young boy, with one starting the Instagram channel "Justice for Huxley".
Eventually, Stauffer took to YouTube with her husband James to reveal the truth - they had placed Huxley with another family.
"After multiple assessments, after multiple evaluations, numerous medical professionals have felt that he needed a different fit in his medical needs, he needed more," Stauffer said.
In a comment posted to YouTube, Stauffer added: "Multiple scary things happened inside the home towards our other children."
"Do I feel like a failure as a mum? 500 per cent," said an emotional Stauffer, adding that they had never publically shared " "99 per cent of the struggles" they had with the boy.
The Stauffer's announced their decision in tearful video. Photo / You Tube
Stauffer was widely criticised online for the decision.
"My heart aches for poor Huxley," one person commented on Twitter.
"They dragged this poor little boy all the way from China, making him start all over again, then giving up on him."
My heart aches for poor Huxley. They dragged this poor little boy all the way from China, making him start all over again, then giving up on him🥺80% of her followers she gained from the adoption story, got sponsorships and her subs even funded the trip to China #mykastauffer
"@MykaStauffer adopted an autistic child from China and after years of having him, she gave him up for adoption because he had 'bad behaviour' after using him for $$$ on her YouTube channel," wrote another.
One person raged: "She adopted a child for views and then got rid of him and treated him like a brand deal."
A redacted report obtained by Buzzfeed through a public records request found that authorities had met with boy and his new parents on June 9.
The documents show that Deputy Susanna Leonard from Delaware County Sheriff's Office found that Huxley "seemed very active and showed no signs of any abuse from what I could visually see."
"When we walked into the office, [Huxley's] adoptive mother was singing a song to him as he was sitting on her lap smiling," Leonard wrote. "[Huxley] appeared to be very happy and well taken care of."
Police discovered that Huxley was happy in his new home. Photo / You Tube
The officer also noted that Huxley was able to say the word "momma" when prompted by his prospective adoptive mother and the police found that there were no signs of abuse.
Police also squashed any talk that that rehoming process had not been legal, writing: "As far as the talk of possible human trafficking against [Huxley], it was determined that the process of his adoption is being conducted legally."
Human trafficking allegations against the Stauffers were spurred by the fact they used a GoFundMe appeal to raise money for the adoption.
Leonard wrote in her report that police discovered that the Stauffers' US adoption of Huxley had not been finalised, despite the process being concluded in China, though she noted that finalisation in the US is not legally required.
Police also found his new adoption is entirely legal and is going through a private adoption agency.
"At this time the investigation will be closed out with no further follow up from our office," she wrote.
"I was naive, foolish and arrogant'
Myka Stauffer broke her silence last week, speaking for the first time since announcing that Huxley had been rehomed.
The four-page statement, posted to social media, included an admission that she was "naive" to take on the challenge of raising a special-needs child.
