No Charges For Mother of Teen With Cancer

May 25, 2009 — -- A 13-year-old boy with cancer who fled the state with his mother toavoid court-ordered chemotherapy has returned, Minnesota officials said today.

The arrest warrant issued for Daniel Hauser's mother Colleen while they were on the run have been quashed, Brown County Sheriff Rich Hoffmann said at a press conference, but he would not discuss whether she might still face any charges.

On Sunday, Jennifer Keller, an attorney from Irvine, Calif., contacted the New Ulm Sheriff's Department to let them know that Colleen and Daniel Hauser were ready to return to Minnesota.

"They were ready to come home," Hoffman said, when asked why the mother and son had decided to end their flight. He declined to say where the two had been in the six days they were missing.

Daniel was immediately checked over by medical authorities upon his return today, Hoffman said, but he wouldn't comment on the boy's medical condition.

A federal arrest warrant had been issued for Colleen Hauser after she and Daniel left Minnesota May 19. The search for the pair had focused on Southern California, where they were reportedly spotted at least once, and Mexico, where it was suspected they might have gone to seek alternative treatments.

Doctors say Daniel has a cancerous tumor growing in his chest that is likely to kill him if he does not receive additional chemotherapy, but his family has said they prefer natural healing methods.

The U.S. Attorney's office and the FBI filed federal criminal charges Friday against Colleen Janet Hauser for fleeing with her son Daniel to avoid giving him chemotherapy for his cancer.

The federal criminal complaint noted that Hauser and her son flew on Sun Country Airlines from Minnesota to Los Angeles on May 19. The felony charge of fleeing from the state of Minnesota to avoid prosecution for deprivation of parental rights has been quashed.

The case became an international manhunt with Interpol being notified and U.S. Marshals being deployed to Mexico from the San Diego Field Office and the U.S. Embassy in Mexico.

According to one source, the marshals and Mexican law enforcement officers were in Tijuana looking for Hauser and her son before their return to Minnesota.