Woman Uses Facebook To Sell Her Children
In the current financial climate many people are forced to make sacrifices. Pets are being abandoned or put into care. Debt is at an astronomical level. Payday loan companies are making a killing from people’s economic misfortune. However a parent from Oklahoma came up with an interesting financial solution to her problems. Simply put she attempted to use Facebook to sell her children. Bizarrely the woman saw her children as a commodity in which she could cash in. Obviously it is totally unacceptable to sell your children. However she may have found eBay or Gumtree to have been a better online marketplace.
The mother of two, Misty VanHorn, an Oklahoma resident was taken into police custody on 6th March 2013. Facing alleged charges of attempted child trafficking after putting her children on the social media platform for sale. The two children are aged at 10 months and 2 years respectively. What is astonishing is perhaps the meagre price the 22 year old charged for her “wares”. She charged a minute $4000 dollars for the both of her children.
Astoundingly this was not the first time VanHorn had attempted to sell away her motherhood. The police report read that she had been attempting to do this several times. She offered the 10 month old alone for $1000 and both of them in a $4000 “package”. What’s more she had even managed to find a buyer. According to the Oklahoman, Vanhorn was in discussions with a buyer in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Due to this it is likely that both parties will be charged for federal crime as the crime cross’s state lines.
A message from VanHorn to the woman from Fort Smith read. “Just come to Sallisaw. Its only 30 minutes away, I’ll give you all her stuff and let y’all have her forever for $1000.” The online news site Daily Dot uncovered this from the police report, to which they had access. Police speculate that she wanted the funds in order to pay the bail on her arrested husband. However ironically, her bail is now priced at $40 000. The children are now under the care of the state’s department of human services. The department was the body which initially made the police aware of Vanhorn’s actions.
The story is an interesting case study into the flexibility of morality. Many readers may find it beyond their comprehension that a mother would firstly sell her children. But also at such a low price relatively. A price which is comparable to the prices charged for a second hand car. Feedback provided on Daily Dot’s feed, found one follower willing to offer $4000 to keep VanHorn away from her children. The story has been received with a mixture of disgust and disbelief. Many readers of the story have searched for Vanhorn, on the social media platform. There are however many Misty Vanhorns on the platform. Two of which live in Oklahoma, one has a similar picture to the one released from the police earlier this week. However this VanHorn does not list Sallisaw as her place of residence.