Missouri couple can keep child at focus of adoption dispute

A Guatemalan woman’s effort to reverse her child’s adoption by a Missouri couple apparently is over, now that the U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear her appeal.

Carthage residents Seth and Melinda Moser adopted the boy — who is now 7 years old — in 2008 after the parental rights of his biological mother, Encarnacion Romero, were terminated.

Authorities determined that Romero had abandoned and neglected the boy after she was arrested on immigration violations when the child was 11 months old. Many of her supporters contend she lost her parental rights because she was in the country illegally.

This story was originally published July 1, 2014 at 9:01 PM with the headline "Missouri couple can keep child at focus of adoption dispute."