Exclusive: Valley family who raised abducted girl speaks out

PHOENIX - A girl who was abducted from California when she was just one year old has turned up in Phoenix, and now the family of gypsies who raised her as their own are fighting for legal custody.

The family said they had no idea the baby was kidnapped when her biological grandmother, who is also part of their Romanian community, brought her to them and asked them to take care of her temporarily.

Police say her three biological aunts kidnapped her during a non-custodial visit while she was living with foster parents in Los Angeles County.

“What my heart is feeling right now is so much pain, so much sorrow, that I know she's looking for me,” said Shirley Frank, who has raised the girl as her own for the last seven years. “They told me she was scared and crying, and I just want her home.”

They said Amber Rose Nicklas’ mother is a drug addict, and that she was neglected by her biological parents.

They said by the time they learned the real story, their bond couldn’t be broken.

“Do you go with your head or your heart after the fact, when the baby is attached to you so much,” said Bill John, who has acted as the girl’s grandfather for most of her life. “And she became attached to the family. The family loved her, and she loved the family.”

They called her Sandra, and lived with her in a house on 16th Street and Oak, where they also ran their psychic and Tarot reading business for the past seven years.

Neighbors said they rarely saw customers at the establishment, but often saw the girl playing outside with the man they assumed was her father.

Detectives served a court order and confirmed her identity Wednesday, ending a search that spanned nearly a decade.

Police said the family was not cooperative, and that eventually they found the girl hidden under a pile of clothes in the bathtub, a charge the family denies.

“They took her from a home that she only knew,” said Frank. "And a mother that she only knew.”

The family also denies changing the girl’s birthday, but does admit to withholding her from school, saying they tried many times to enroll her, but couldn’t because they didn’t have the proper paperwork. John said they tried to educate her via the Internet.

“She doesn't read and write like they said,” said John. “But she's very bright, very, very bright child.”

The family talked with ABC15 only with their lawyer present, who said there was no criminal intent on the part of the family, whose only crime was loving and caring for the girl. They have been going through the process to gain custody of her, at least temporarily.

“There's no words to describe losing a child, no words to describe losing a child,” said Frank, who burst into tears and left the interview.

The girl was taken back to Los Angeles Wednesday night.

No charges have been filed.