Where is the father?

In North Augusta, SC, Debra Harrell works at McDonalds, an employer not known for its high wages. She has a nine year old daughter and it is summer so her daughter has a lot of time on her hands, so she spends her days "playing on a laptop that Harrell had scrounged up the money to purchase".

Then the laptop is stolen in a home robbery. What is a mother to do? She allows her daughter to play in a nearby park that has plenty of other kids and lots of adults and gives her a cell phone, just in case".

Sounds like the best solution to a bad situation. But it got Debra Harrell arrested because when some "well-meaning" woman discovered the situation, she called the police instead of trying to help.

But where is the father? A Google News search of "Debra Harrell" shows 2,830 results and as far as I can tell, NONE OF THEM mentioned the father of this child. Not only do none of the news stories address this issue, but neither do the commenters.

The father is completely left off the hook. Why? The possibilities:

• He is dead
• The daughter was conceived by artificial insemination
• He wants to help, but Debra Harrell has shut him out
• He wants to help, but can't for one reason or another
• He has abandoned his daughter

We are not told. And the fact that we are not told makes it seem as if this story is all about Debra Harrell. But it isn't. Or at least it shouldn't be.