Police search for boy needing cancer aid

Authorities are looking for a Sandy couple who they believe fled Utah with their 12-year-old son in order to avoid court-ordered chemotherapy treatments for the boy's cancer.

Daren and Barbara Jensen have been missing since Aug. 8, the date a juvenile court judge ordered they relinquish custody of their son, Parker, to the Division of Child and Family Services.

The boy has cancer of the mouth and is in need of medical care. Doctors have said the boy has only a 5 percent chance of living without chemotherapy treatments, according to an Associated Press report.

Sandy police say visits to the Jensen home on at least five separate occasions have not led them to the boy. The home appears to be empty, according to documents filed in 3rd District Court.

Salt Lake County prosecutors have now charged his parents, Daren, 38, and Barbara, 36, with one count of child kidnapping, a first-degree felony, which carries a penalty of up to life in prison. Prosecutors have also filed an alternative class A misdemeanor charge of custodial interference, punishable by up to one year in jail.

DCFS investigated a complaint about the Jensens several months ago, which led the agency to seek custody of the boy, DCFS spokeswoman Carol Sisco said. That complaint originated with Primary Children's Medical Center, whose doctors are obligated by law to report concerns about abuse or "life-saving issues" to authorities, hospital spokeswoman Bonnie Midget said. An oncology team at Primary Children's diagnosed Parker Jensen's cancer, but he has never been treated, Midget said.

The Jensens have been wrangling with state officials in juvenile court at least since June. They told a reporter from KUTV Channel 2 they preferred the use of other "therapy" to treat Parker's cancer because chemotherapy could render him "sterile, nauseous and may stunt his growth."

Efforts by the Deseret Morning News to reach the Jensens or their family members were unsuccessful Wednesday, and calls to Blake Nakamura, the attorney who represented them in juvenile court were not returned. Utah Assistant Attorney General Susan Eisenman, who handled the case for the state, said a court order issued Wednesday prohibits her from speaking to the news media.

County prosecutors rarely — and reluctantly — seek to interfere with the custodial rights of parents through the filing of criminal charges, prosecutor Kent Morgan said. Those actions are typically handled by the Utah Attorney General's office, which works in concert with DCFS in child protection cases — and may or may not involved criminal charges of any kind.