A Decade-Long Battle

A Family Court judge had awarded Darryl Davis, biological father, custody of Darryl six years ago.

Hal and Pat Wilcox had wanted to adopt Darryl from the time they took him into their home as foster parents when he was a baby. They still consider him their son.

Darryl, 16, is in the middle, torn between the Philadelphia father he was born to and the Bucks County couple with whom he has bonded. The two homes are less than 30 miles away.

For Darryl, life in limbo began in January 1993 — five months after his birth. His aunt called the city's Department of Human Services and said that Darryl's father had dropped the infant off at her house a week earlier and never returned. She said that Darryl's mother was on drugs and her whereabouts were unknown.

DHS stepped in and placed Darryl in foster care. He spent nearly a year with another foster family before being placed with Pat and Hal Wilcox in 1994.

Last month, Darryl ran away to be with the Wilcoxes, who are again fighting for custody of him in Family Court. They hope to resolve the dispute at a Feb. 4 hearing.

Davis: "He's not with them. I'm the father, They don't seem to understand that I worked hard to get him."

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Boy caught in the middle as dad & couple vie for custody