Homeschooling’s 

Invisible Children

Gail Perkins

Content note: Case narratives include descriptions of severe violence inflicted on children, including abuse and neglect, sexual violence, torture, and murder, as well as mentions of suicide and domestic violence. They also include photos of victims and perpetrators of violence.

In the late 1990s, 18-month-old Gail Perkins was kidnapped by her father, Adam Lee Perkins, from her Greensboro, North Carolina, home in the midst of a custody dispute. Along with his mother, Ruth Perkins, Adam fled with the girl to Alabama and later Ohio, where he claimed to be homeschooling the now 6-year-old (it is unknown whether he followed Ohio’s homeschool law or, more likely, homeschooled under the radar). On February 23, 2002, five years after Gail was kidnapped, private investigators finally tracked the family down and returned Gail to her mother, Nikki Jones.

Date: February 23, 2002
Location: Streetsboro, Ohio

Documents: Date:
Missing Greensboro Girl found in Ohio 2002-02-25
Missing Girl found in Portage 2002-02-25
A Greensboro Mother’s Fight for Her Daughter Is Far from Over 2002-03-07
Home-Schooling Freedoms Help Parents Who Abduct Children 2004-11-18