Grandparents of Oklahoma runaway accused of withholding food; hiding him from his mother

Yahoo

08-02-2025

GROVE, Okla. – A Grove couple is accused of using excessive exercise during blistering heat and freezing temperatures as a form of punishment on their 16-year-old grandson, prompting the teen to run away.
Missing northeast Oklahoma teen located
While there are no physical bruises on Christopher Dunham's body, what his mother and other set of grandparents see is how emaciated and beaten down he is and the emotional toil he says he suffered at the hands of his maternal grandmother, Terri Spencer Clapp, and her husband, Scott.
The teen told officials the Clapps also withheld food from him as a form of punishment.
Numerous telephone calls and messages to various telephone numbers associated with Terri and Scott Clapp were not returned, or the numbers have been disconnected.
Grove Police Chief Mark Morris said his department is conducting a thorough investigation into the allegations and will submit his report to District Attorney Doug Pewitt.
'There were many bizarre and troubling behaviors by the Clapps. Our foremost concern was this child's safety.
Grove Police Chief Mark Morris
Grove Police began receiving multiple reports of alleged 'bizarre' behavior toward the teen by the Clapps, which, combined with Clapp's refusal to allow a Grove police officer and a child welfare worker into their home. That behavior prompted Morris to obtain a search warrant for the Clapps' residence.
Tracy Sanez, Christopher's paternal grandmother, lives in the Kansas City area and helped reunite the teen with his mother. Sanez said in an exclusive interview with FourStatesHomePage, that she is glad he's home with family.
'They kept him away from us for almost two years,' Sanez said, referring to Terry and Scott Clapp. 'They didn't even use his legal last name.'
'I can't imagine what he thought – he probably thought we deserted him,' she said.
The 5-foot, 7-inch-tall teenager reportedly weighed 120 pounds when the Clapps reported him missing. Sanez believes he weighs closer to 100 pounds. In the photo above, Dunham is seen eating a hearty meal after being reunited with his mother.
Authorities said that Christopher was returned to his mother, Luci Balentine, at the Grove Police Department on Wednesday, after several forensic interviews with police and DHS, and with the approval of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services.
'They just hugged each other and wouldn't let go of each other,' Sanez said, 'He was just shaking.'
She said Christopher was seen Thursday by a family doctor for malnourishment and frostbite to his toes.
'We found out they withheld food from him, allowing him one packet of oatmeal for breakfast, a peanut butter sandwich for lunch, and canned pasta for dinner,' Sanez said.
Christopher told them he hadn't eaten meat or sugar in almost two years.
Sanez said they went to a steakhouse where the teen ate a Porterhouse steak and later Braum's Ice Cream.
When the grandfather was mad at the teen, he reportedly took Christopher's mattress and made him sleep on a mat on the floor and forced him to exercise.
'When he was removed from them, he (Christopher) told us, 'I owe him (Scott) 2,000 squats,'' Sanez said.
Neighbors reported the teen was forced to mow the Clapps' yard during the summer when heat indexes topped 115 degrees. Other neighbors saw the teen standing outside in the cold rain without a coat, begging to come inside the house and overhearing Terri Clapp telling him to shut up.
'It will take some time for him to heal,' Sanez said.
Terri Clapp and her husband, Scott, are Luci's mother and step-father.
Sanez said Terri Clapp has alleged her own daughter, Luci, abuses drugs and alcohol, and is, in general, an unfit mother.
'Nothing could be further from the truth,' Sanez said. 'They live in a nice house with a swimming pool in the backyard, and Luci is a schoolteacher working on her PhD. in education.'
Social media posts and other research backs up Sanez's statements.
The Clapps are accused of constantly berating the teen in front of people, telling people his parents didn't want him, he was no good, and he was just always causing trouble.
'Yes, he does have a temper and could throw things, but it wasn't anything out of the norm,' Sanez said.
Sanez believes what started as a summer vacation with grandparents on Grand Lake morphed into Christopher staying with the Clapps to attend Grove Public Schools. The family just thought with Grove schools being smaller than the Independence, Mo. school district, Christopher would benefit from smaller classrooms, she said.
'We tried to locate them, but they kept moving around, and they would never tell us where they were,' Sanez said. 'He never got the gifts or letters we sent – nothing.'
The Clapps are accused of isolating him from everyone, forcing him to leave school, saying they were going to homeschool him and have him get his GED.
'They punished him by taking away his GED study guides,' Sanez said. 'He would sneak away and go to the library and study until they put a stop to that.'
She said Terri Clapp had medical authorization to take Christopher to the hospital but never had guardianship.
Sanez said this was Christopher's third time running away from the Clapps.
Christopher went missing on Saturday, February 1st, but the Clapps didn't report him missing to the Grove Police until Sunday. Authorities say the elderly couple then argued with them about releasing his photograph, saying they didn't want his 'other' grandparents to know, referring to Sanez.
Sanez said that during his three days of hiding from the Clapps, the teenager would sneak back into the house to eat peanut butter and crackers and then leave. He told police he would sleep at the Honey Creek State Park and inside Walmart, hidden in a toilet paper fort at night.
Police Chief Mark Morris said he was notified by the Grove Walmart Security team, who watched over four-and-a-half days of video surveillance tapes. Christopher was not in the store when he was missing from his grandparents' home.
Missing Oklahoma teen spent nights in Wal-Mart toilet paper fort
On Tuesday, after police searched the Clapps' residence, Christopher snuck back inside the house and was confronted by his grandparents.
When Christopher and the Clapps arrived at the Grove Police Department on Wednesday for forensic interviews, the Clapps told him 'to be quick and run in and tell them he was okay,' Sanez said.
Sanez said she was told Christopher had a small piece of paper with him with written instructions allegedly from the Clapps about what to say.
The police intercepted the note and told Christopher to relax. He wasn't going home with the Clapps.
Parents and guardians are encouraged to contact Delaware County Children's Special Advocacy Network at [phone] if they suspect any child is a victim of abuse.
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