Boy with cancer, mother return voluntarily

NEW ULM, Minn. -- A 13-year-old cancer patient and his mother, who fled Minnesota last week to avoid court-ordered chemotherapy for him, returned voluntarily Monday, and the boy was examined by a doctor.

Daniel Hauser was "immediately checked over medically" when he and his mother arrived on a charter flight at 3 a.m., Brown County Sheriff Rich Hoffmann said.

On a video released by the sheriff's department, Colleen Hauser described how the first chemotherapy treatment Daniel received made him sick and she said he planned to run away from home.

"Then what do I have? I mean, he was going to run," Hauser said. "And that just broke my heart. I can't have one of my children running away from something that they should face."

Hauser expresses optimism that her son can beat cancer, but the video doesn't disclose where they were or when it was made. The video was produced by Asgaard Media, which also arranged the charter flight for the mother and son to return home.

At one point on the video, an unseen woman asks Daniel what he'd say to people who claim he's not old enough to decide whether he needs chemotherapy. "I'd tell them to back off," he replies.

Hodgkin's lymphoma has a 90 percent cure rate in children if treated with chemotherapy and radiation, but doctors say Daniel has a 5 percent chance of survival without those treatments.

He underwent one round of chemotherapy in February, but none since. The family cited religious beliefs in opting for natural healing practices inspired by American Indians. Colleen Hauser is a member of the Nemenhah Band, an Internet-based group whose leader lives in southwest Missouri.

A judge ruled that the parents medically neglected Daniel and ordered them to get him an updated chest X-ray as well as select an oncologist for a re-evaluation. After the X-ray showed a tumor in Daniel's chest had grown, the mother and son left town.

On Thursday, Anthony Hauser appeared before reporters asking his wife to come home "so we can decide as a family what Danny's treatment should be."

Hoffmann did not say where the pair have been since they missed a court hearing May 19.

Brown County Attorney James Olson said he likely would dismiss the felony complaint against Colleen Hauser because she returned voluntarily. Minneapolis FBI spokesman E.K. Wilson said the federal charge of unauthorized flight also likely would be dropped.

Daniel Hauser was evaluated at a hospital in the Twin Cities on Monday and his parents were with him, according to Tom Hagen, an attorney at the law office representing the parents.

Daniel was expected to spend Monday night at his family's farm in Sleepy Eye, about 100 miles southwest of the Twin Cities. A court order placed Daniel in protective custody last week, but Olson said family services was comfortable allowing Daniel to stay with his parents. A deputy was posted at the farm Monday night, Olson added.