MOTHER OF MISSING LEWIS CHILD HAS LOST CUSTODY OF SIX CHILDREN

(02/15/2013)
The mother of a 3-year-old Lewis County girl who vanished without a trace in September 2011 won't regain custody of her other six children when she gets out of prison this month.

The state Supreme Court has unanimously upheld a Lewis County judge's order terminating Lena Lunsford's parental rights.

It was a decision backed by West Virginia child-welfare workers and the unidentified father of one of Lunsford's children.

The U.S. Bureau of Prisons website says Lunsford is set to be released Feb. 26 from a facility in Baltimore, where she's been serving an eight-month sentence for welfare fraud.