Rancho Santa Margarita Foster Mom Wins Full Custody Of Ohio Girl

RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA (AP) — A California foster mother has won full custody of a nearly 3-year-old girl she has cared for since birth after settling a heated court battle with the child's father and grandmother in Ohio.

A spokeswoman for Stacey Doss said Tuesday that Doss will drop her petition to adopt baby Vanessa after a settlement was reached in an Ohio courtroom.

The settlement reached on Monday grants visitation rights to the child's grandmother.

Doss had started the process of adopting Vanessa before she was born. Her father, Benjamin Mills Jr., filed for custody when the girl was less than a month old, halting the adoption proceedings.

Doss was ordered to return Vanessa to Ohio in July but appealed and was granted a stay to keep the girl until further notice.

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