BOY MISSING DURING METH RAID FOUND

Child discovered at Weld Sheriff's Office

Tuesday, October 15, 2002 - A 6-year-old Adams County boy who lived at a
home police said contained a methamphetamine lab was dropped off at the
Weld County Sheriff's Office in Fort Lupton early Monday, one day after
police arrested his mother. The child, who had been missing, was taken to
the office by unidentified Fort Lupton residents, said North Metro Drug
Task Force Sgt. Jim Gerhardt.

The boy's mother, 23-year-old Jamie Sanders, was arrested Sunday at a hotel
near Interstate 70 and West Colfax Avenue, police said. She was being held
on a $50,000 dangerous-drugs warrant in connection with a separate meth
lab, according to police.

Police had been searching for Sanders since Friday, when she eluded the
task force raid at a home at 1480 Marigold Drive in unincorporated Adams
County.

"Last night at midnight, the 6-year-old was dropped off at a house in Fort
Lupton," Gerhardt said. Police said the residents of the home know the
boy's family, although the relationship was not clear.

"Instead of calling right then and there, they waited until this morning to
take him in," Gerhardt said.

The child was taken to Children's Hospital in Denver, where he was
evaluated for exposure to the dangerous chemicals used in meth production,
Gerhardt said. The boy was released Monday afternoon, according to a
hospital spokesperson.

During the Friday raid, the task force found gallons of muriatic acid and
other unknown chemicals, in addition to methamphetamine, which was found on
the headboard of the bed where the 6-year-old and his younger sister slept,
police said.

Janice Copp, Sanders' 47-year-old mother, and Danielle Copp, Sanders'
18-year-old sister, were arrested at the home and could be charged with
possession of a controlled substance, possession with intent to manufacture
a controlled substance and child abuse. They also may be charged as
"special offenders" because the lab was within 1,000 feet of a school,
police said.

Task force members were met by Sanders' 4-year-old daughter as they entered
the front door of the home during the bust. The girl was checked at the
scene and eventually transported to Children's Hospital, where she also was
checked for exposure to drugs and dangerous chemicals. She was released
Friday, a hospital spokesperson said.

Both children have been placed in protective custody with Adams County
social services, police said.

Gerhardt said that about 80 percent of meth labs show evidence of children
living in the home. "I can't tell you how many times we're searching for
meth lab components and we're in a child's bedroom," he said.

Dr. Kathryn Wells, a pediatrician with Kempe Child Protection Team, which
evaluates children suspected of abuse or neglect, said she examined both
children.

"We look for signs of exposure to any of the chemicals used to produce
methamphetamine," Wells said. Those signs are often difficult to determine
without blood and urine tests, she said.

"They may come in looking fine externally, but have internal damage," Wells
said. The volatile chemicals used in meth production can cause internal
burns and damage to all major organ systems, including the brain, she said.

Even so, the psychological damage can be far greater than any physical harm
associated with meth production because of the violence, drug use, weapons
and pornography the children often are subjected to, Wells said.

Wells refused to comment on the condition of the two children.