Lakeville Man Accused of Abandoning Son Described as 'Irrational' by Police in 2002

Steven Alexander Cross, accused of abandoning his 11-year-old son last month, was and will be brought back to Minnesota to face a charge of child neglect.

, the 60-year-old Cross, whom authorities say fled his home in July, left a note behind for his 11-year-old son, apologizing and telling the boy to go to a neighbor’s home—and to take his PlayStation video game console with him.

Authorities nationwide have been searching for Cross since his July 18 disappearance. The boy, who rode his bike to a neighbor’s home in tears on the day his father left, has been placed in foster care, but will soon be permanently placed with a relative, according to county officials. Lakeville Patch has chosen not to publish the name of the boy.

San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s spokesman Rob Bryn said authorities tracked down Cross in Cambria, CA, about 30 miles north of San Louis Obispo, where he was reportedly working at a deli and living in his van. County sheriff’s deputies arrested him without incident in his van, according to authorities.

It's also been reported by the Pioneer Press that Dakota County Attorney Jim Backstrom is investigating Cross on fraud charges.

Cross was adjudicated the boy's father in 2001, and the boy’s mother, Katik Kristina Porter, 38, was granted visitation rights. However, she apparently stopped exercising those rights, and they were terminated a year later.

Although it appears that Porter is still living in the Twin Cities area, her whereabouts are unknown, and she has not returned numerous telephone messages.

Lakeville Police reports from Cross’ Lakeville address paint a bleak picture of the boy's early life and the ongoing—and escalating—hostility between his parents.

The first police report, dated July 3, 2001, was filed when the boy was slightly more than a year old.

At the time, Porter was living in St. Paul, and she asked to be on hand when she picked up the boy for court-ordered visitation. The officer who wrote the report said he was present when Porter picked up the child, and added: “It should be noted there existed a high level of hostility between the two parties, although this incident remained peaceful.”

The next report was filed two weeks later, on July 17, 2001. In that incident, Porter came to the Lakeville police station and complained that when she arrived to pick up the boy for her scheduled visitation, Cross wouldn’t let her take the boy because she was a half-hour late and told her “she couldn’t see (name redacted) because he didn’t like her attitude.”

Porter was advised to contact her attorney to discuss the “visitation issue.”

The situation escalated further on Aug. 10, 2001, when Porter arrived with a male friend to collect the boy, and the three adults apparently engaged in a shouting match in the driveway. Both Porter and Cross made almost simultaneous complaints to Lakeville police, Cross at his home and Porter at the Lakeville police station.

Cross told police that he wanted to pursue fifth-degree assault charges against Porter’s friend, because “he has gone through anger management classes and knows what fifth-degree assault entails, and he feels that this was fifth-degree assault.”

On Dec. 8, 2001, Cross complained to police that Porter had attempted to pick up the boy from a Lakeville day-care center at 9 a.m., telling the employees there that she needed to take the child to a doctor. Cross told police that she wasn’t allowed to take the boy earlier than 4 p.m.

Cross filed another complaint with Lakeville police on Jan. 5, 2002, telling them that Porter had brought the boy home without having him secured in a car seat.

The officer who filed the report said Cross was “verbally abusive” on the phone. When the officer told him that the conversation would be over if he continued to speak in the same manner, “Cross expressed his frustration and disgust for the Lakeville Police Department concerning other incidents” and that “every time Porter breaks the law in the slightest way he is going to call the police.”

“Cross yelled at me regarding other issues that have no bearing to the complaint at hand,” the officer wrote, including “Internet porn and Hispanics being at the Lakeville post office.”

“Cross at times was extremely irrational,” the officer added.

Cross again filed a complaint with Lakeville police on May 11, 2002, telling them that Porter had not returned the boy as scheduled, and that he considered his son missing. He told police that he feared that Porter had “taken off” with the child.

When police reached Porter, she told them that the boy was fine, and that her understanding was that she was to have visitation with the child on Mother’s Day. When an officer called Cross to report that the boy was safe, he was “extremely upset,” according to the report.

A week later, Cross complained again that Porter hadn’t brought the boy home at the scheduled time and that she had called and told him she couldn’t get a ride. Porter told police that she was waiting for a ride and would bring the boy back as soon as possible.

The last police report at Cross’ address that mentions Porter is dated June 1, 2002. Cross complained to police again that Porter had returned the boy home 27 minutes late. He told police that when he confronted her, telling her it was the third time in a row that she had been late, she “gave him the finger” and drove away.

“I advised Mr. Cross that I would document the incident, but unless there was more than just the gesture, I would not pursue charges against Ms. Porter,” the officer wrote.

No court appearances have yet been scheduled for Cross, who will face extradition to Minnesota.

The process could take up to 10 days according to a report in the Pioneer Press. According to the report, Dakota County Attorney Jim Backstrom said his office usually won't attempt to extradite defendants on a gross misdemeanor charge, but prosecutors intend to do so "because of the nature of the offense" and the other possible charges that are looming.