You may have seen a ‘Missing Children’ flyer circulating on social media in recent days. A number of times, people have asked, ‘Why am I just hearing about this?’
The story has been unfolding for months, but did not garner significant media attention early on since it pertained to custody. But the broader picture involves five children from three fathers across five states.
Now, 34-year-old Kaylauni Rae French is wanted by law enforcement in Effingham County, who have been unable to locate her since February 2024. French fled the Guyton, GA area with four of her children amid an investigation by the Georgia Department of Family & Children Services (DFCS) and an ongoing custody dispute. French has another minor son who resides with his father in another state and is not connected to the missing persons case.
Family court filings in Effingham County which have come to light since French’s disappearance allege upwards of seven DFCS investigations, a pattern of parental alienation, and neglect and abuse of all four of the children in French’s care.
What We Know
Note: There is an abundance of information circulating on social media, but the following timeline includes only information which is corroborated by official public records available at this time.
French has five children with three different men. The oldest child is a 14-year-old girl by a father who lives out of state. The oldest son is by a different father, who also lives out of state and with whom the child primarily resides. The three younger children, an 8-year-old girl and two six-year-old boys, share the same father. French was living in Guyton, GA in Effingham County at the time of the alleged incidents.
An order for child support, a parenting plan, and a visitation schedule was in place for the father of French’s oldest child dating back to 2011.
Timeline:
2010 – French’s first child is born with C.T.
3/2/11 – An order for child support, a parenting plan, and a visitation schedule was put in place by the courts in Oregon for the father of French’s oldest child.
8/12/14 – French files for an order of protection against a male, W.T.A., in Montgomery County, TN as well as a related female, A.A.
8/20/14 – French receives an order for child support from the father (D.W.) of her second child in Clatsop County, Oregon.
5/2/16 – French marries N.M. – the eventual father of her three youngest children. Their daughter is born the same year.
3/7/17 – French’s custody agreement with the father of her oldest daughter (then 7-year-old) is amended in Christian County, Kentucky.
2018 – The two youngest children are born to French and her husband, N.M.
11/5/20 – The home on Archer Road in Guyton is put in French’s name via a quit claim deed, according to the Effingham County Tax Assessor.
January 2021 – “Substantial employment” ceases for French.
4/12/21 – Guyton Police respond to the French home on Archer Road for a welfare check at 9:26 a.m. A neighbor called concerned about children left unattended and entering the roadway. GPD made contact and referred the incident to DFCS.
3/11/22 – French’s divorce with her husband and father of her three younger children, N.M., is finalized in Effingham County. An Effingham County judge allowed French to serve the father of the three younger children, who was living outside of Georgia, with divorce and custody papers by way of publication because French attested in a sworn statement that she was unaware of the father’s location. She also said in the sworn statement that she was unaware of any friends or relatives who could provide information as to her then-husband’s whereabouts. As a result, the father was not present for the hearing and was not considered in custody matters. (According to filing a 6/10/24, the father claimed French was always fully informed of his residential location)
The complaint for divorce was filed along with a poverty affidavit, in which French stated she did not have the funds to pay a filing fee. She wrote in her affidavit on January 27, 2022 that she had been “unable to engage in substantial gainful employment since January 2021.” She states that her only income every month is food stamps.
10/12/22 – Guyton PD was called to the French home for a civil dispute between French and the father of her second child. French asserted that the man was being emotionally abusive.
From the GPD incident report:
“[Father] lives out of state (Pennsylvania) with their child. She advises that he changes visitation plans, causing her emotional stress. She also advised that he may be doing this to control her. Report made out per French request to give to Victim witness and see what help they could give her (if any). No criminal issue at this time and case closed.”
06/17/23 – Guyton Police respond to the French home in reference to a requested welfare check on children who were left home alone. The incident report lists the time as 10:06 p.m. on a Saturday evening. A 13-year-old was at the home with a 10-year-old male, a 7-year-old female, and three 4-year-old males. The report states the case was referred to another agency.
10/7/23 – A fire occurs at French’s home on Archer Road in Guyton. Reportedly, all four children are home alone at the time. The incident time listed on the ECSO Incident report is 2:20 p.m on a Saturday. The initial report indicates that French told law enforcement that the fire “possibly started in the back upstairs bedroom of the residence and it was possibly started due to an electrical fire due to issues with the fixtures after a recent lightning storm.”
1/25/24 – Social media influencer and family advocate Dallas Wielenga (Tiktok @MalibuDallas) posts a series of videos on TikTok about abuse of power by the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office and Georgia DFCS against Kaylani French. The videos are a call to action against Sheriff McDuffie and state that MalibuDallas will soon visit Georgia as he takes on the case.
Wielenga alleges that the Sheriff’s Office and DFCS are “corrupt and in bed with the local CPS agency.” He also asserts that French’s boyfriend [Christopher Kersey], who was a Sheriff’s deputy at the time, was “an eyewitness to CPS committing felonies…But the Sheriff…told the deputy not to get directly involved. Well I hate to break it to you, Jimmy, but he’s directly involved anyway because he’s helped raise his girlfriend’s children. And he’s an eye witness to CPS committing felonies…This upstanding sheriff…ended up firing the deputy sheriff today for ‘conduct unbecoming’ and ‘insubordination.’ Then the sheriff told him that there’s possible charges or an investigation coming into play for this? For what? What charges could there possibly be?”
Watch the video here.
French also retains Texas-based attorney Paul Davis.
During this time, French and her children leave the Effingham County area to stay with a friend. It is at this time that the children were ordered into the custody of DFCS because they opened a dependency case. An investigation into French was active and ongoing.
2/6/24 – The last date French and her children had known whereabouts by DFCS/law enforcement, according to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
2/6/24 – The father of French’s oldest child initiates formal proceedings for change of custody in Effingham County Superior Court. The complaint alleges that French:
- has at least seven cases – including juvenile court cases involving inadequate supervision of the child, food, clothing, and shelter.
- all four children were home alone when a fire ignited in the master bedroom and that one of the children started the fire as a cry for help
- French was found guilty of neglect/abuse in Christian County Kentucky
- French has a pattern of truancy issues
- French has a history of alienating her children’s fathers from their lives.
- French is not cooperated with DFCS, prompting concern by the father requesting the change of custody
The filing includes more than three dozen photos from the French home, which include images of damage done by the fire as well as the state of the home in rooms which were not impacted by the fire.
2/13/24 – Advocate Dallas Wielenga says he is no longer working on the case or corresponding with French. The previously posted videos on French are deleted from social media platforms.
Spring of 2024
Warrants are taken out for Kaylauni French. The incident report lists:
- Interference with Custody (Interstate) – 4 counts
- Cruelty to Children/Criminal Negligence/Causes Excessive – 4 counts
- Maintaining a Disorderly House – 1 count
6/10/24 – The father of French’s three younger children seeks a modification of custody in Effingham County. The filing reads:
“…the Georgia Department of Human Services, by and through the Effingham County Department of Family and Children Services (DFCS) currently has legal custody of the minor children. [The father] has recently been made aware of at least seven (7) previous DFCS encounters that [French] has had that includes inadequate supervision of the children, food, clothing, and shelter. The current DFCS case in Effingham County is no different as it began with a home fire that was ignited in the mother’s bedroom while the oldest child was supervising the younger three children at issues here…The minor children have special needs that have not been met by [French] and continue to not be met by [French].
[French] has been severely uncooperative with the Effingham County DFCS office. [French] fled the jurisdiction, refuses to notify the Court of her location, refuses to show up for Court hearings, refuses to work a case plan, refuses to allow the fathers to speak to the children, refuses to allow the children’s attorney to speak to the children, refuses to ensure the children’s best interest are being met. As such, [the father] is highly concerned for the children’s safety and wellbeing.”
9/23/24 – A Grand Jury bench warrant is issued for Christopher Kersey, who is named as French’s boyfriend, based on a grand jury indictment. The indictment lists two felony counts: 1. Failure to Report Suspected Child Abuse and 2. Violation of Oath by Public Officer.
Specifically, the indictment says Kersey failed to report suspected child abuse of French’s four children, committed by his girlfriend Kaylauni French, between the time period beginning June 17, 2023 and ending January 1, 2024. The indictment states that the four children were
- left alone in an unsanitary home
- were unsupervised
- were living in unsanitary conditions
- were not being cared or provided for in an appropriate manner
- were neglected, and
- were abandoned
Kersey’s failure to report these things, the indictment states, constituted a violation of his oath of office as a deputy with the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office.
10/1/24 – Kersey is booked into the Effingham County Jail after arriving at the jail to turn himself in. Bond is set in the amount of $5,000. As a condition of his bond, he is ordered not to have any contact with Kaylauni French or her children and he is barred from working in law enforcement.
10/7/24 – At the conclusion of the DFCS investigations and inquiries into the fathers, both fathers were awarded custody of the children in court.
11/22/24 – The order for custody was finalized for both fathers.
As of November 26, 2024, the whereabouts of French remain unknown and ECSO still has warrants for her arrest. French has ties to Kentucky, Oregon, and Tennessee, but family have suggested on social media that she was spotted in Arkansas.
The custody cases have been transferred to juvenile court in Effingham County and subsequently, proceedings take place in a closed courtroom.
The home on Archer Road in Guyton is still listed in French’s name.
Anyone who may have information on this case is asked to contact the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office at 912-754-3449. Investigator John Bradley is handling the case.
