Mesa police officer reunited with daughter missing for 2 years in nationwide child abduction case

PHOENIX — After more than two years of searching, Mesa police officer Shawn Freeman has been reunited with his daughter Brooklyn, solving a nationwide child abduction case.

Brooklyn went missing when she was 4 years old after her mother brought her to California in 2022 following her breakup with Freeman, according to the Mesa Police Department.

Brooklyn’s mother, Erin Gerlach, allegedly accused Freeman of domestic violence, creating social media accounts to smear his name and messaging news outlets posing as him to ruin his reputation, police said.

While Freeman was exonerated from the charges and awarded custody, it took a nationwide child abduction case involving the help of federal authorities for him to find Brooklyn again, police said.

Mother of missing daughter allegedly slandered Mesa police officer father

Brooklyn’s mother, Erin Gerlach, allegedly created social media accounts depicting Freeman as a domestic abuser.

She also allegedly filed police reports with multiple law enforcement agencies describing herself as a domestic violence victim, although Mesa PD’s internal affairs unit exonerated the claims.

The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Child Abduction Unit then identified Brooklyn as an abducted child in the National Crime Information Center in April 2023.

In February 2024, Freeman was granted sole custody of Brooklyn as he continued to search for her.

“I would get my hopes up because some new intel would come in and later found out that it was not true,” Freeman said in a Wednesday news release. “Erin would make it look like she was somewhere else where she wasn’t.”

When did Mesa police officer reunite with missing daughter?

The tide starting turning when a detective obtained an arrest warrant for Gerlach in May 2024, police said. Nine months of searching involving federal agencies followed.

Eventually, authorities tracked Gerlach to a home in Murrieta, California. The city’s police department served a search warrant, took Gerlach into custody and reunited Brooklyn with her father.

“She wasn’t allowed out of the house for over two years, except on Halloween because they could dress her up,” Freeman said in a Wednesday news release. “She was neglected proper dental and medical care, she went without direct sunlight and was only allowed in the pool at night because people couldn’t see into the backyard.”

Brooklyn now lives with her father and her father’s fiancée. Freeman said she’s thriving in her new environment now that she’s allowed to play outside and make friends. She is recovering with a therapist and a medical team, police said.

Related

Human remains found near Globe 2 weeks ago identified as missing Mesa teenArizona children found as part of nationwide 'Operation We Will Find You 2'Sen. Mark Kelly proposes 2 bills to support young men and grow public serviceSR 87 reopens northeast of metro Phoenix after vehicle fireWeekend construction closes lanes on four Valley freewaysLawsuit challenges validity of thousands of ESA reform ballot measure signatures