My 22 year old sister just ran away. She dropped off her daughter at my Aunt's house for babysitting this past Saturday night and never came back to pick her up. She turned off her cell phone and deleted her Myspace account. No one has been able to contact her. She left a note at our Dad's house where she's been living, saying that she's leaving, doesn't want to be a mother anymore, and don't bother looking for her. The theory is that she ran off with her boyfriend (not the baby's father) who recently came into some money via court settlement. The biological father of the child is not in the picture whatsoever. No one knows how to contact him, and the last we heard anyway, he doesn't want anything to do with my sister or his child. I have a few questions. Is this legally considered abandonment? Is there an amount of time that the family has to wait for it to be considered abandonment? Is is possible for someone else in the family to adopt the child? I don't live there (Florida) so I can't do anything about it, but my Aunt and Father and my sister's mother are all there to take care of things. They are currently trying to find my sister by tracking her cell phone or bank card that she shares with her mother, but no luck so far. I don't believe they have called the police. Any advice? My family doesn't even know where to start.

First this is not abandonment. That occurs when you leave a child without supervision. Nor does it qualify as grounds for an adoption. Generally you would have to wait at least 6 months depending on where you live.

What you should do, immediately, is have someone apply to be her legal guardian for the time being. The courts may require that you make a good faith effort to find the father. If your sister and the father can't be found after a time, then it should be possible to adopt her.