Everlyse Cabrera Foster parents say girl wandered off from North Las Vegas home

Their daughter disappeared while in foster care, and now the birth parents of Everlyse Cabrera are taking legal action against those they hold responsible.

On Monday, attorney Greg Mills filed a civil lawsuit that names eight individuals and the Clark County Department of Family Services as the parties to blame for the circumstances that led to Everlyse's June disappearance. Despite searches and investigations by North Las Vegas police, little evidence has emerged to indicate where she is or what happened to her.

"These were horrible mistakes that resulted in the disappearance of a child," said Mills, who represents Ernesto Cabrera and Marlena Olivas. "We are seeking accountability."

Those named in the lawsuit are: foster parents Manuel and Vilma Carrascal, whom police have said are no longer cooperating in the investigation; Melvin Balane, the Carrascal's son and owner of the North Las Vegas home that was site of Everlyse's disappearance; the Clark County Department of Family Services; former Family Services Director Susan Klein Rothschild; Family Services administrator Nancy McLane; Family Services supervisor Amy Jaffee; and Family Services caseworkers Vera Sampson and David Cronister.

The complaint, filed in District Court, alleges that Family Services and its workers put Everlyse in jeopardy when they placed her with foster parents who were poorly vetted, trained and supervised.

Also, Family Services failed to monitor Everlyse's well-being regularly and did not properly pursue reunification efforts with the natural parents as is required by Nevada law, the lawsuit said.

"As a result of the failures of the defendants, the plaintiffs have been deprived of any contact with their daughter Everlyse and have lost their right to familial association with Everlyse," the complaint said.

Clark County Spokeswoman Gina Olivares said she did not know whether the county had been served with the complaint.

Everlyse has two siblings that remain in foster care. Ernesto Cabrera and Marlena Olivas are working to regain custody.

"At this point, we haven't seen the documents," Olivares said late Monday. "We'll be reviewing them as soon as we receive them."

The complaint echoes many of the operational shortcomings that have plagued Department of Family Services since state and federal agencies began investigating issues of noncompliance with federal requirements and the underreporting of Clark County child deaths that might have been related to abuse or neglect.

An independent report released earlier this year found that 79 child deaths that occurred between 2001 and 2004 should have been investigated for abuse or neglect and weren't.

A panel was appointed by the state to review the child deaths and recommend legislative fixes. The group, led by retired Nevada Supreme Court Justice Deborah Agosti, meets every month to hammer out its proposals.

New Family Services Director Tom Morton is proposing an improvement plan that could cost upwards of $25 million. It calls for increased staffing, better training and an overhaul of the foster care placement process.

Mills said Monday that one of the purposes of the lawsuit is to gain information that might be helpful to police in searching for the missing girl. Depositions taken from defendants will be made available to police, Mills said.

Tim Bedwell, spokesman for the North Las Vegas Police Department, said he is grateful for any help in a case that remains a high priority. His only issue is time. Civil cases take time, Bedwell said, and the investigation can't wait.

On Monday, he once again asked anyone with information on Everlyse to come forward. She went missing in June, but the child was not seen by anyone outside the foster family since May 15.

"What makes this difficult for us is that we remain on the record that there's no evidence of a crime," Bedwell said. "Technically, it's a missing-persons case. But clearly, this is more than a missing-persons case."

The foster parents have said Everlyse let herself out of the house during the night and wandered off.

If that is the case, Bedwell said, someone must have taken her. If that is not the case, someone in the foster home has information on what has happened to Everlyse, Bedwell said.

"This is probably the most investigated, noncriminal action ever undertaken by this department," Bedwell said, adding that investigators pursue leads in the case on a daily basis. "We're not giving up."