COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) - The parents of a missing Chinese woman and her jailed U.S. husband both want guardianship of the couple's 1-year-old daughter.
An attorney for the parents of 28-year-old Mengqi Ji Elledge said a written statement that it is in the "best interest" of the child that they obtain custody, instead of their son-in-law's mother, Jean Elledge. A hearing is set for Monday.
Mengqi Ji Elledge's husband, Joseph Elledge, is jailed in Columbia, Missouri, on $500,000 bond on a child abuse charge. He hasn't been charged in the disappearance of his wife, although charging documents say he took a long drive through unfamiliar remote areas before reporting her missing on Oct. 9. The abuse is alleged to have occurred several months earlier.
Jean Elledge's attorney didn't immediately return a phone message.