The Turlock Police Department is actively investigating a case of child concealment, in which it is suspected a father is hiding his daughter out of state.

Eva Cunningham said she filed a report with the Turlock Police Department after repeated attempts to bring her 16-month-old daughter back home came to no avail.

Cunningham said her daughter’s father, James Whiting, was supposed to bring their daughter back on Feb. 5, but that he had refused and is now believed to have taken the young child to Wheatland, Wyoming.

Cunningham has been granted full legal custody of the child.

Child concealment cases can be prosecuted as either a misdemeanor or a felony. The case arises when one parent “maliciously deprives another person of his/her right to custody” of the child. The case varies from a straight-forward kidnapping, because kidnapping is considered a crime against the victim, and child concealment is a crime against the parent.