KRISTIN M. HALL and NATALIYA VASILYEVA
Associated Press Writers
SHELBYVILLE, Tenn. – A Tennessee woman has stirred international outrage by sending a Russian boy she adopted back to Moscow on a flight by himself, yet local authorities said it’s not clear if she broke any laws.
The 7-year-old boy, Artyom Savelyev, was put on a plane with a note saying his adoptive mother no longer wanted to parent him because he was violent and had severe psychological problems. While her actions were condemned by Russia’s president and U.S. diplomats, the sheriff investigating the case said it’s not clear if anyone can be charged.
“You know, you look at it and it’s hard to say exactly if a law has been broken here,” Bedford County Sheriff Randall Boyce said. “This is extremely unusual. I don’t think anyone has seen something like this before.”