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Dunn House faces scrutiny Police look into whether staffers helped hide a mom accused of kidnapping her daughter from Wisconsin By JONEL ALECCIA and MARK FREEMAN of the Mail Tribune A staff member at Dunn House, a local battered women's shelter, has been placed on leave following an Oregon State Police investigation into whether shelter workers helped hide a woman accused of kidnapping her 5-year-old daughter in Wisconsin. The worker, who was not named, will remain suspended while police and Community Works, the Medford agency that runs the shelter, look into the incident involving Heidi M. Maerz. Maerz, 21, was arrested Dec. 6 at the shelter on a charge of custodial interference. The charge stemmed from a Wisconsin police warrant issued after Maerz allegedly abducted her daughter, Sierrah D. Foster, from the child's father, who is the custodial parent. "We are investigating whether the staff member helped hide the child," said Ed Roussell, spokesman for Community Works. "There is no policy to hide children from their parents or from authorities." OSP Lt. Kurt Barthel said Monday that police have interviewed at least one shelter worker, though he declined to specify how many workers may be involved. "We're looking into issues of Dunn House's involvement with the incident," said Barthel. "I hope they will be cooperative to the fullest extent." The agency intends to cooperate, said Maggie Jordan, Community Works' director of victim services. "We don't see ourselves as vigilantes or as people who obstruct justice in any way," she said. Maerz, for whom court records list an Eagle Point post office box address, showed up at Dunn House Dec. 5 with the child, Roussell said. "She knew the police were chasing her," he said. She left the shelter with the child, then returned later alone, only to be apprehended by police. The child was located a day later at the home of an unidentified Talent resident. Roussell said he didn't know if that resident was a shelter worker. Jordan and Roussell said staff members weren't aware of the Wisconsin warrant against Maerz or of an order to pick up the child. "The question is, what role, if any, did we have in aiding her?" Roussell said. Dunn House clients aren't screened for criminal charges, partly because the agency has no system to do so, Jordan said. "People need to know that this is a safe place to go," she said. It's premature to discuss whether police will recommend charges against shelter workers, Barthel said. Jackson County District Attorney Mark Huddleston will review the incident and decide whether to file charges, he added. Maerz remained lodged Monday in the Jackson County Jail with no bail, pending extradition to Wisconsin. Reach reporter JoNel Aleccia at 776-4465, or e-mail [email protected] Reach Mark Freeman at 776-4470 or e-mail at [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.