Brooke Hanna found, millionaire Bonita Springs mom surrenders to authorities

Brooke Hanna has been found and her millionaire mother arrested.

A Bonita Springs woman surrendered to authorities Wednesday night in Arkansas, returning her 15-year-old daughter after a month-long nationwide search, according to media sources.

Donna Hanna, 47, was charged with interference of custody. She is accused of not returning her daughter after a spring break visit to her mother’s Barefoot Beach condominium. Burt Hanna, who lives in Fayetteville, Ark., has custody of the teenager.

Authorities said they followed Hanna’s trail from Oklahoma, where her car was found, all the way to Newark, N.J.

Donna Hanna posted a $25,000 bond and was released from the Washington County jail on Thursday. She has a scheduled court appearance on Friday.

The incident was sparked by a bitter divorce in which Donna Hanna received a $16 million cash settlement. Burt Hanna is founder and owner of HannaE2s Candle Company in Fayetteville, Ark., one of the nation’s largest candle producers.

Donna Hanna originally had custody of the pair’s two children — Brooke and Jake, 17, but lost it in the summer of 2008. She moved to Bonita Springs and purchased the $2.68 million condominium on Barefoot Beach.

The day after Brooke Hanna was to return home, Donna Hanna’s lawyer filed an emergency motion for temporary custody. An affidavit by Naples family counselor Diane Durante stated the teenager was uncomfortable living with her father, had flashbacks to inappropriate touching and “is in danger from her father.” Burt Hanna scoffed at those allegations. He said similar claims had been made to child welfare services in Arkansas but that none had been confirmed.

Reached by telephone Thursday, Hanna said he was overjoyed and elated to have his daughter back home with him.

“We’re just glad to have her home,” a relieved-sounding Hanna said. “It’s great. I’m so glad to have her back home with her brother and me. She’s back home now, and getting adjusted to life with us again.”

Hanna said his ex-wife and daughter called him around noon Wednesday to let him know they’d be coming back to Arkansas.

“As it turned out, I guess they just spent a lot of time sitting around watching TV and shopping,” he said of his daughter’s time=2 0away. “I guess they split most of their time between Atlantic City and New York.”

Hanna said he wasn’t sure what would happen to his ex-wife now.

“To tell you the truth, I don’t know,” he said. “We’re just so happy to have Brooke back home, and that’s what we’re thinking about.”

http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2009/apr/23/brooke-hanna-found-millionaire-bonita-springs-mom-/