1975
Well, Kenny got his way. For a mere moment, he was in charge. He was removed from his mother's care and moved in with a cousin, Mrs. Esther Crowe.
Then, mysteriously, one day when he went to Portage High School, he did not return home. As he left the school, two men with a yellow maverick greeted him. He was pushed into the yellow maverick automobile and it sped off. An hour later, the Portage police department received a call from Mrs. Chrisman indicating that her son was with her. A police search revealed that the Chrismans were no longer in Indiana.
Mrs. Chrisman led suit to regain custody of Kenneth from her cousin and to change venue from Porter to Jasper County to insure a fair hearing. The judge dismissed the case when the Chrisman's didn't show for the hearing since all present were of the opinion that she had already regained custody of Kenneth. He did, however, assess her court charges for the court's time. So what happened to the Chrisman's?
BROTHERS SEARCH FOR KENNETH CHRISMAN
They were alive and well, living in a trailer on the school grounds of the Rebekah Home for girls in Corpus Christi under the direction of [Lestor Roloff]. Lester Roloff had previously fought the welfare agents when the home had been shut down after a petition by the State of Illinois was entered against the Texas home. The Supreme Court later over-ruled and re-opened the home. It was when the lawyers who helped him win this case arrived in Chesterton, that things turned in favor of Fairhaven.
So what became of Kenneth Chrisman? On February 24, 1975, at the age of 17, he left with the family car on what he told them was an errand. What he really did was drive over to the Corpus Christi police, turn over the car keys and petition for refuge from the welfare authorities of the state of Texas. He was temporarily placed in a foster home. Eventually, all the charges against both Dr. Voegtlin and Mr. Yingling were dismissed or dropped.
