Hakken Kidnapping Case: Grandparents, children make first appearance since alleged abduction
(CBS) TAMPA, Fla. - In their first appearance since their alleged kidnapping, 4-year-old Cole and 2-year-old Chase Hakken charmed reporters as they smiled for pictures at a news conference with their maternal grandparents, Patricia and Robert Hauser, who have custody of the boys.
The boys hammed it up for the cameras. Two-year-old Chase held up his toy trucks and 4-year-old Cole even laid down on the grass to strike a pose.
Prior to the boys' appearance, Patricia and Robert Hauser spoke to the press outside their Tampa home and asked that the media not question the children about the kidnapping, allegedly by the boys' parents.
Patricia Hauser thanked police and law enforcement agencies, as well as family, friends, co-workers and the media for their role in helping return the boys home safely.
Hauser said her grandsons are doing well and are unharmed - but for some mosquito bites - and that the family dog is also in good condition. She said they are referring to the trip to Cuba and back as "an adventure."
Patricia and Robert Hauser chose not to comment on specifics regarding the ongoing criminal investigation into the kidnapping. They said they will not hold any more public appearances or news conferences and that they are looking to return to their normal, every-day schedules.
Joshua Hakken and Sharyn Hakken, the boys' parents, are accused of breaking into the Hausers' home on April 3, trying up Patricia, taking the children and eventually setting sail for Cuba. Federal, state and local authorities searched by air and sea for the sailboat Hakken had recently purchased.
The Hakkens lost custody of their two young sons last year after police in Louisiana found them with their children in a hotel room with marijuana and weapons, according to the New Orleans Times-Picayune. The boys were sent to a foster home following the arrest, but last week, prior to the alleged kidnapping, the boys' maternal grandparents were granted custody.
The Hakkens, along with their sons, were located in Cuba thanks to a tip from the person who sold the boat to Joshua Hakken. The family was extradited back to the U.S. on April 9.
Joshua and Sharyn Hakken are charged with kidnapping, child neglect, false imprisonment, burglary and interference with custody. They were denied bond in court on Thursday.
At their first court appearance in Tampa, Judge Walter Heinrich also ordered them to have no contact with any of the victims or witnesses in the case, including their children.
The couple is scheduled to appear in court again on Monday for a pretrial detention hearing.
Complete coverage of the Hakken kidnapping on Crimesider
