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Today is a difficult day for Vicki and Dave Dittman. Today Lois Marie Ozenbaugh would have been 1 year old.
Lois died Friday in circumstances that are under investigation by the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department.
Lois and her sister, Autumn, came to live with the Dittmans about 10 months ago, when their mother, Cristine Crooks, asked Vicki if it would be OK. Crooks, 19, was a friend of the Dittman's 18-year-old daughter, Angel.
At first the children stayed with the Dittmans only on weekends and during the day. Then: "The mother came to me, even though I am not a family member, and asked me if I could possibly take the girls for a while because she was unable to care for them and she thought that they would be all right here," Vicki said.
The Dittmans brought the two girls into their home and cared for them. Mrs. Dittman said Crooks would occasionally come to see the girls.
"She didn't even show up Christmas Day, to even spend the day," she said, adding that Crooks didn't bring gifts for the girls for Christmas.
When the Dittmans tried to seek legal custody of the children, Crooks asked if she could take the children for a couple days. "I knew that if she took them out of the home that they wouldn't come back," Vicki said.
The Dittmans knew that even though they had raised the girls for 10 months, they had no legal basis for keeping them.
On Dec. 26, when Crooks came to the Dittmans' home asking for custody, the Dittmans originally refused, said Warsaw Police Chief Craig Allebach.
Crooks then went to the police station, showed officers birth certificates, and had a police officer accompany her to the Dittmans' house.
"Everything was pretty cordial," Allebach said. "There wasn't any problem and everybody was cooperative."
The Dittmans are still seeking custody of Autumn, 2, who is in foster care while Lois' case is investigated. Their custody trial date is pending completion of the investigation of Lois' death.
