Missing Lesbian Mom in El Salvador?

A woman who has gone missing with her 8-year-old daughter has reportedly fled the United States,just as the custody battle between her and her former lesbian partner advances.

Lisa Miller and her biological daughter, Isabella Miller-Jenkins, are believed to be in El Salvador, according to the Associated Press. In January, Miller failed to appear in court for a mandated custody swap. She and her daughter are believed to have been in El Salvador since September.

Janet Jenkins, Miller's former partner, was granted custody by a judge after Miller and her daughter disappeared. Her attorney, Sarah Star, says Miller and Isabella hopped the border into Juarez, Mexico, and then flew to San Salvador, the capital of El Salvador.

The Vermont supreme court will hear arguments on June 23 from Miller's attorneys, who say a family court judge erred last November in awarding custody to Jenkins.

"Hundreds of children are kidnapped by selfish family members every year, without regard to the child's safety, education or stability, and this case is no different," Star said in an e-mail to The Advocate."This type of conduct is outrageous and extremely harmful to children. It is illegal and there is no law that I am aware of that sanctions what Lisa Miller has done to her daughter."

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has turned its attention to scouring Central America to find Isabella.

Miller gave birth to Isabella after the women entered into a civil union in 2000 in Vermont. However, they broke up in 2003, with Miller claiming that she was no longer a lesbian. They have been fighting over custody ever since.

Calls to Liberty Counsel, which has two of its top attorneys representing Miller, have not been returned.