RICHMOND, Va. -- What started out as a heartbreaking story of abandonment, has turned into a hopeful story of new beginnings.
Takai Crute, 22, who is nonverbal and has special needs, is back in Richmond and surrounded by loving family after her once-distant aunt Kesha Crute fought to bring her home.
“I’m just happy to have her back," Kesha said. "I'm excited, overwhelmed, and just blessed because, as I told you when we spoke before, this could have gone in so many different ways."
Takai was allegedly abandoned by her own mother hundreds of miles away.
On April 20, surveillance footage showed Takai and her mom Angela Crute get off a bus in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Police said Angela and an unidentified person walked Takai into the woods and left her there, which Kesha described as "being left for dead."
“There was no intent for her to make it out," Kesha said.
Takai, who walks with a limp and is unable to care for herself, remained alone in the woods for 12 hours.
Miraculously, a hiker found Takai later that evening and contacted authorities.
“God protected her while she was out there," Kesha said. "She could have lost her footing and fell into the water or been attacked. They have a heavy coyote population, so she could have been attacked by a coyote."
It wasn't until weeks later that Kesha learned what had happened to her niece.
That's when she saw Takai listed as a "living Jane Doe" in local news reports.
Kesha immediately got in touch with Michigan State Police and found out that Takai was in the custody of Adult Protective Services.
She was staying in a group home and was safe and well taken care of, according to Kesha, who visited over the summer and stayed in constant communication with her caretakers.
"The people in Michigan that she encountered were great with her," Kesha said.
Kesha initiated the process of gaining custody through social services and the court system, and months after Takai was abandoned, she officially became a legal guardian.
In September, Kesha trekked up to Michigan once again, but this time, she'd be able to bring Takai home to Virginia.
“I sat in the parking lot when we pulled off and hooked up. I took a picture," Kesha recalled. “And once I took the picture, I started crying. My dad was like, 'Alright baby, get it together, you got to drive us home. And I was like, 'Yeah Dad, I need a moment.' It was just a breath of fresh air. It was the end to that piece of the puzzle and the beginning of a new one.”
Since Takai has settled in, Kesha said they've gone to church as a family and are forming new relationships.
Kesha said her 9-year-old daughter looks to Takai as a big sister now, and they are becoming good friends.
Kesha said Takai still needs to undergo psychiatric evaluations and is waiting for some social services documentation to be transferred to the local agencies in Richmond. She'll hopefully get connected into a group home soon.
Though Kesha knows future hardships are unavoidable, she hoped sharing Takai's story would inspire others to be a voice for those who don't have one.
"She had no choice in this, and she couldn't speak up for herself," Kesha said. “At night now when she gets in that bed and I kiss her goodnight and say a prayer over her, I knew I did what was right. I know that I'm still doing what is right. She can be a handful at times because she's strong-willed, but I'd do it all over again."
Kesha said she wanted to send a message to caretakers of people with special needs.
"If you are not in the right frame of mind or tired and pushed to the edge, seek help," Kesha said. "For me, regardless of where she was, if we had gotten a phone call, we would have stopped and we would have gone to get her."
Michigan State Police said Angela Crute is still wanted for abuse and neglect of a vulnerable adult. She has not yet been arrested, but police said she is living in Kentucky.
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