North Carolina Grandmother’s Search for Missing 2-Year-Old Calli Horner Ends with Shocking Utah Adoption Update

A North Carolina grandmother’s desperate search for missing 2-year-old Calli Horner, affectionately known as “Bean,” has taken a shocking turn—after weeks of conflicting stories and unanswered questions, the Greensboro Police Department informed the family that Calli was legally adopted in the state of Utah.

Missing 2-Year-Old Calli Horner Adopted In Utah

The name of the adoption agency is Love & Light Adoptions, located in Kaysville, Utah. According to multiple local outlets, the agency is owned by Denise Garza, who previously faced regulatory action in 2018 for “repeated and chronic violations” of state law.

That suspension was tied to Garza’s former agency, Heart & Soul Adoptions. In a 2018 ruling to revoke her license, Administrative Law Judge Sonia Sweeney cited 22 violations of state regulations. Among the findings were that Garza charged adoptive parents for expenses that were never actually incurred, including birth mother medical costs for which there was no documentation—violating Utah law that permits agencies to charge only the “actual and reasonable costs” related to maternity, medical care, and necessary prenatal living expenses.

Sweeney emphasized that these rules are designed to ensure both birth mothers and adoptive parents can make informed, voluntary decisions during what is often a deeply emotional process. She also noted that Utah law prohibits offering or giving money or anything of value to encourage or induce someone to “sell a child.”

In October 2017, the Utah Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) placed Heart & Soul’s license on conditional status, citing a “lack of transparency in billing practices and insufficient record-keeping” that could potentially lead to harm or fraud.

During an interview with regulators before her license was ultimately revoked, Garza admitted to charging adoptive parents $4,000 for a birth mother’s medical expenses—regardless of whether the mother was covered by Medicaid. She stated she “doesn’t do Medicaid” because she “hates it,” according to Judge Sweeney’s order. Garza also claimed she had been operating adoption services for over a decade.

One witness testified that an agency employee would hand birth mothers envelopes containing at least $4,000 in cash, and that all birth mothers expected and received this payment.

Despite her past, in 2023, the state issued a new license to Garza for her new agency, Love & Light Adoptions, which officially launched in Kaysville on March 20, 2023.

Shondell Clark, Calli’s grandmother, told The North Carolina Beat that she hadn’t seen her granddaughter in weeks and was met with lie after lie from her daughter, 23-year-old Kedijah Horner, when trying to find out where the toddler was.

Clark said her son, a flight attendant, had let Kedijah and Bean stay at his apartment. When he returned on April 30, he learned Kedijah was being evicted from the Lakes at Lincoln complex due to multiple police calls and disturbances. When asked where Bean was, Kedijah allegedly told him the child was with her father—raising red flags for the family because of the father’s concerning past.

“Something in my spirit said go over there, so I go over there and I knock on the door, knowing she’s going to get evicted, and I just wanted to see where she was gonna go from here and help her out with Bean or whatever,” Shondell said.

Over several days, she returned repeatedly to Kedijah’s apartment—sometimes with police for welfare checks—but no one answered. Kedijah continued to give inconsistent stories, claiming Bean was with various people, none of whom actually had the child.

Shondell also contacted a caseworker, only to discover Calli wasn’t even listed in the system at the time.

The breaking point came when Bean’s father denied having the child and also broke down in tears, saying Kedijah once told him she planned to give the child away. On one occasion, with police present, Kedijah claimed Bean was staying with friends—another story the family did not believe.

“THEY DIDN’T DO NONE OF THAT,” Shondell said about the Greensboro officers’ failure to investigate deeper. “I DONE HAD THE POLICE OVER THERE FOUR TIMES ALREADY SINCE LAST WEEK, AND THEY DOING THE SAME THING—AND BEAN STILL NOT THERE.”

As of Wednesday, May 14, a missing person report was filed. But on Friday, May 16, the Greensboro Police Department gave the family a stunning update: Calli Horner had been legally adopted in the state of Utah.

It remains unclear when or how the adoption occurred, or why the family was never informed—especially given Kedijah’s conflicting statements and refusal to disclose the truth. Questions still remain about the legal process and whether proper protocol was followed, considering Shondell’s ongoing involvement and concern for the child’s welfare.

Despite finally learning Calli’s location, the family is left with heartbreak and outrage over how the situation was handled.

The North Carolina Beat has launched an investigation into Love & Light Adoptions in Utah and how they could adopt Bean, despite the agency’s troubling history.