A mother and grandmother are desperately seeking help to locate two young children from Rockingham County who were taken by their father in April and haven’t been seen since.
“We have no idea where he is,” said Pamela Barger, the grandmother. She spoke out about the disappearance of Brady Jon Orlando, 37, from Bluffton, S.C. According to court documents, Brady cut off communication with his ex-wife, Renee Orlando, of Broadway, earlier this year and refused to comply with court-approved visitation rights for Renee to see their two daughters, Madison, 6, and Brianna, 4.
Following a court-approved visitation order on April 5, Brady sent his ex-wife “disturbing messages” stating that she would have no contact with the children, as outlined in court documents.
Afterward, he withdrew Madison from school, moved out of his residence, and listed the home for sale in May, which was sold by July, the documents reveal.
An updated court order filed on August 6 granted Renee sole legal custody of Brianna, while the custody case for Madison remains under South Carolina’s jurisdiction.
However, it took three months before a judge issued an arrest warrant for Brady, which happened on November 19, according to the documents.
Efforts to obtain information from the Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office about any ongoing investigation have so far been unsuccessful.
“The problem is, the courts don’t consider it kidnapping because he’s the father,” said Barger. “No one has looked for them except my daughter, their mother. The police won’t act without an order. Then the judge issues an order, and we wait and wait for the judge to sign. If it were their child, I feel like things would move faster. We even have evidence suggesting he could be dangerous. Despite that, the process has dragged on. I just don’t understand.”