Daniel Hauser's Dad Pleads for Mom, Cancer Teen Fleeing Chemo to Return Home

May 21, 2009 — -- The father of the Minnesota teenager who is on the run with his mother to avoid court-ordered cancer treatment for the 13-year-old's cancer made an emotional plea today for his family to return home.

"This is for you Colleen if you're out there," Anthony Hauser said today from his farm in Sleepy Eye, Minn., to his missing wife. "Please bring Danny home so we can decide as a family what Danny's treatment should be."

"I know you're scared and I feel that you left out of fear, maybe without thinking it all the way through," said Hauser.

"Danny is my son and the rest of the family is worried sick about how he is," Hauser said. "Please call me and let's talk about how we can work this out."

"Please give me a call," repeated Hauser.

Earlier today, a felony arrest warrant was issued for Colleen Hauser who authorities believe could be headed for Mexico with her cancer-stricken son.

Brown County Sheriff Rich Hoffman also spoke at the press conference today, similarly pleading with Colleen to return to Minnesota.

"We're all working to the same end, to make sure Danny is back home and safe," said Hoffman. "I'm asking you to contact us to arrange your safe return."

"We will not take an enforcement action if you've shown a good faith effort to come back," said Hoffman.

"We are concerned other individuals are going to use this incident as a mean to forward their own agendas which might not be in Danny's best interest," he said.

Hoffman and Hauser did not take questions.

Colleen and Daniel Hauser were last spotted in Southern California Tuesday morning, according to the Brown County Sheriff's office, who said it was "reliable information" that has led them to believe the duo is heading to Mexico to seek alternative cancer treatment.

Both the California authorities and the FBI have joined the nationwide manhunt.

Colleen Hauser and 13-year-old Daniel disappeared after a court rejected the boy's request to refuse chemotherapy treatment for his Hodgkin's lymphoma disease. Doctors believe Daniel will die without the treatment.

The Hausers have said that they would prefer a less rigid chemotherapy treatment combined with other alternative treatments.

The family is Roman Catholic and believes in the "do no harm" philosophy of the Nemenhah Band, a Missouri-based religious group that believes in natural healing methods.

The warrant for deprivation of parental rights will ensure extradition to Minnesota if she is apprehended, according to police, who say they are "concerned for the welfare of Daniel."

In a press conference late Thursday, Hoffman urged Hauser to return home with her son.

"All we're asking Colleen to do is come in and do what the court order asks," said Hoffman.

Authorities said the fugitives do not own a car and don't believe they could have left Sleepy Eye without help. They say they are following "any and all leads" and have been receiving tips from across the country.

Hoffman said that authorities do not have a specific vehicle they are looking for.

Authorities had said they believe Colleen and Daniel could be with a Massachusetts' man who fled his own chemotherapy treatment in 1994, according to The Associated Press.

Billy Joe Best was 16 when he fled to Houston to escape treatment for Hodgkin's disease, according to the AP. He returned home only after his parents promised that they would not force him to have the treatments. Best claims to have beaten cancer by using natural remedies.