MONTGOMERY
- Until early Thursday morning, Nancy Goodwin had canceled her family's Thanksgiving celebration, choosing to sit and wait for news on the whereabouts of the 2-year-old she calls ''our boy.''
About 5 a.m. Mrs. Goodwin received word that Chase Lee Reed, whom she and her husband, Ken Goodwin, have been raising, had been found along with his birth mother.
As they prepared to share a Thanksgiving meal with their pastor, Chase's guardians were tired but happy.
''This is the true meaning of being thankful,'' Mrs. Goodwin said as Chase raced around, smacked on piano keys and moved small pieces of furniture at the home of Tom Lipsey, pastor of Montgomery Community Baptist Church.
The search for Chase and his birth mother, Vivian Rodgers, 28, of Hyde Park, ended early Thursday when police in Fort Worth, Texas, tracked the pair. Mrs. Goodwin, 42, said she last saw mother and son as they left her home Saturday for what was to be an overnight visit.
The publicity surrounding the case netted two phone calls - one from a friend of Ms. Rodgers and another from one of her distant relatives - that led authorities and Mr. Goodwin, 36, to Fort Worth, Ms. Rodgers' hometown.
Mr. Goodwin took a flight late Wednesday afternoon and stayed with family in nearby Dallas. He explained to local police that he and his wife were Chase's legal guardians and that Ms. Rodgers had disappeared with the boy.
Montgomery police were notified by Fort Worth authorities sometime after 4 a.m. Thursday that Ms. Rodgers had been arrested. She was wanted on a felony charge of interfering with the custody of a child. She was being held Thursday night at the Tarrant County Jail in Fort Worth.
Chase was examined at a hospital and turned over to Mr. Goodwin, who returned with him on a 7 a.m. flight.
Despite the long day, the Goodwins planned to give thanks at the homes of a few more friends Thursday - instead of the original plan to have guests to their home.
The Goodwins say they want to adopt Chase and sever the relationship they had with the birth mother. Ms. Rodgers, who had been infrequently visiting the boy, told the couple to ''keep him'' last spring, they said.
''We want what's best for Chase,'' Mrs. Goodwin said Thursday. ''Chase deserves a good life.''
Bernie Mixon contributed to this report.
Guardian wants angel back Thursday's story
