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Toddler Vanessa to stay in California, court rules

Stacey Doss plays with 2-year-old Vanessa at their California home. Doss is in an interstate custody battle over Vanessa, whom she has cared for since she was a day old.

Mindy Schauer, The Orange County Register Stacey Doss plays with 2-year-old Vanessa at their California home. Doss is in an interstate custody battle over Vanessa, whom she has cared for since she was a day old.

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Stacey Doss, a Rancho Santa Margarita single mother is caught up in an interstate custody battle over Vanessa, the 2-year-girl she adopted at birth. The birth mother said she didn't know who the father was, but he surfaced and wants his daughter back. Doss has launched an online

MINDY SCHAUE, THE ORANGE COUNTY/THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER Stacey Doss, a Rancho Santa Margarita single mother is caught up in an interstate custody battle over Vanessa, the 2-year-girl she adopted at birth. The birth mother said she didn't know who the father was, but he surfaced and wants his daughter back. Doss has launched an online "Operation Vanessa" campaign to win support for her side.

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Contributed photo Stacey and Vanessa (baby) Doss

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Stacey Doss, seen here with adopted baby Vanessa, is engaged in a custody battle with the child’s birth father, Benjamin Mills of Dayton.

Contributed photo Stacey Doss, seen here with adopted baby Vanessa, is engaged in a custody battle with the child’s birth father, Benjamin Mills of Dayton.

By Mary McCarty, Staff Writer Updated 7:36 AM Thursday, July 15, 2010

A California woman embroiled in a Dayton custody battle won’t be forced to return the toddler to Montgomery County this week.

Late Tuesday afternoon, July 13, the California Court of Appeal granted Stacey Doss an immediate temporary stay of Montgomery County’s order to return 2-year-old Vanessa to Dayton by July 16.

Vanessa’s birth father, Benjamin Mills Jr. of Dayton, is fighting for custody in a case that has attracted national attention. The trial is scheduled July 29 before Montgomery County Juvenile Court Judge Nick Kuntz.

The California court ruled that Vanessa Doss, “shall not be removed from Orange County, California, until further order of this court.”

“(Mills) continues to believe that the court system will bring this private situation that Ms. Doss has made so public to a positive conclusion resulting in a loving relationship between him, his daughter, and his family,” according to a statement from Mills’ attorney Elizabeth Gorman.

Doss, who has been unable to adopt the girl because of the custody question, praised the court. “I’m thrilled,” she said, “but mostly for (Vanessa). We were on the verge of having to bring her to Ohio, which would be hard and confusing for her.”