Warrant issued for father of Cherokee girl at center of tug-of-love after he took the 3-year-old and failed to appear in court

Veronica's mother was working with non-Indian couple to adopt young girl
But father found out and claimed custody due to his Native American roots
Three-year-old was supposed be returned to adoptive parents after court decision, but Dusten Brown failed to show with baby Veronica
The warrant was issued Friday, Brown plans to turn himself in to authorities on Sunday

By Hugo Gye, Jill Reilly and Ryan Gorman

PUBLISHED: 07:54 EST, 11 August 2013 | UPDATED: 08:22 EST, 11 August 2013

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The father of a three-year-old girl at the center of a court battle over her Cherokee heritage will turn himself in to authorities Sunday after a warrant was issued for his arrest Friday.

Issued after Dusten Brown failed to show for a court-ordered custodial transition meeting, the arrest warrant has forced the man's hand and reports indicate he plans to turn himself in to authorities Sunday. This is just the latest development in a custody battle that has gone as far as the U.S. Supreme Court.

Brown is currently in Iowa, where he is training with the National Guard, according to reports.

Brown pictured with his daughter Veronica on Monday. She is set to be returned to her adoptive parents

Tug of war: Veronica, pictured with her biological father Dusten Brown, will return to her adoptive parents

Couple: Matt and Melanie Capobianco have been awarded custody of the girl they brought up from 2009

The warrant was issued by South Carolina officials for Custodial Interference, after Brown failed to transfer custody of Veronica July 31 and August 1, according to WCIV. Once the father surrenders, an extradition process is expected to begin almost immediately.

Robin Brown, Mr Brown's wife, has joined him in Iowa and plans to help him fight extradition, according to reports.

'Not only is the adoptive couple asking this child be ripped from her father while he is serving his country, they are also endangering his military career in the process,' a Cherokee Nation spokesperson told the Tulsa World, adding that issuing the arrest warrant was 'morally reprehensible and legally questionable,' saying all parties involved knew Brown was out of state at National Guard training.

'Just because they get Dusten doesn't mean they will get Veronica,' a defiant Mrs Brown told the paper.

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Brown has 20 days to file a motion in Oklahoma to stop the transfer of custody, according to media reports, though he does plan to abide by court orders.

Matt and Melanie Capobianco, the baby's Charleston, South Carolina, adoptive parents, have said that the want Veronica back, but would like to avoid the process becoming traumatic.

Veronica initially grew up with the Capobiancos after her biological mother Christy Maldonado decided to give her up for adoption to a non-Native American family.

Mr Brown, the girl's birth father, objected despite having signed away his rights to Miss Maldonado, and sued for custody based on his Cherokee Nation ancestry.

In 2011 the Capobiancos were forced to hand Veronica over to Mr Brown, who lives in Oklahoma, due to the Indian Child Welfare Act - even though she is just two per cent Cherokee.

Earlier this month, the state Supreme Court ordered him to return the girl to her adoptive parents after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the law did not apply in this case.

Documents filed in court last month and published by Tulsa World provide a detailed proposal on how Veronica should be reintegrated with the Capobiancos.

Bond: Biological father Dusten Brown, pictured, is trying to adopt his own daughter Veronica, 3

Native American tribes across the U.S. see the case as a test of tribal sovereignty which could set a precedent for other adoptions

Ducks: Veronica, her biological father Dusten Brown, and his wife Robin feed their geese and ducks

Veronica, her biological father Dusten Brown, feed their geese and ducks at his home in Oklahoma where she has lived for the past 19 months

She should be shown photographs of her adoptive parents, who have not seen her for 19 months, while Mr Brown should prepare a scrapbook of pictures and memorabilia to maintain his link with his daughter after her adoption.

'He can plan a farewell celebration with his community, which should be done prior to the transition period,' the plan says.

The section headed 'What to tell the child' includes: 'She can have a cookie at her adoptive parents' house. Talk about games she can play when she gets there. Tell her she can watch her favorite video or cartoon when she returns to the adoptive parents' home.

'In language Veronica can understand, help her realise she will be returning to the family she lived with when she was a little girl, to help take care of her, to keep her safe, to play with her, and to love her.'

During the week-long transition, Veronica was to play with the Capobiancos and gradually see less and less of Mr Brown, until they take her with them from Oklahoma to South Carolina, according to the document.

Mr Brown was not to be allowed to see her for two months after the move, although the two should be allowed to speak on the phone once or twice a week.

In the middle: Veronica Brown, pictured, was in the middle of an ongoing custody dispute

In the middle: Veronica has been caught in an ongoing tug of war custody battle for most of her young life

'I'm always going to be her daddy': Dusten Brown and daughter Veronica met for the first time on New Year's Eve 2011

Lawyers for the father have criticised the proposal, claiming it was drawn up by social workers who do not know Veronica personally.

However, a lawyer for Miss Maldonado told Tulsa World that it was much more humane than when she was originally separated from the Capobiancos.

Mr Brown had never met his daughter and, after the girl's non-Indian mother rebuffed his marriage proposal, played no role during the pregnancy and paid no child support after the girl was born.

Last month it was revealed that Miss Maldonado is suing the federal government, saying a law governing the placement of Indian children is unconstitutional.

In her lawsuit, filed in federal court in South Carolina, she asks U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder for a declaration that parts of the Indian Child Welfare Act are illegal.

Those measures – which include a preference for 'other Indian families' over prospective non-Indian adoptive parents – should be abolished because the law uses race in determining with whom a child should live and therefore violates equal protection provisions, Miss Maldonado argued.

The act was passed in 1978 to reduce the number of Indian children being removed from their homes by public and private agencies and placed with non-Indian families.