Parents of girl who died at Lake of the Ozarks file federal lawsuit
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The parents of a toddler who was found dead in the Lake of the Ozarks in March 2025 filed a lawsuit in federal court on Friday.
The lawsuit names as defendants various directors or employees of the Missouri Department of Social Services, Missouri Children's Division, Camden County Juvenile Office and Camden County Sheriff's Department.
Iszabella O'Bryan, 2, was found dead in the water after being missing for about an hour. The Missouri State Highway Patrol said she was found in Bollinger Creek Cove a short distance from her home.
In the lawsuit, O'Bryan's parents - Justin Haas and Katelee O'Bryan - claim two Camden County detectives "aggressively interrogated" the couple with "hostile and manipulative" tactics "rather than coordinating rescue efforts." Katelee O'Bryan said that upon learning her daughter had been found dead, she suffered "acute medical shock and debilitating physical seizures."
The lawsuit alleges that while investigating, law enforcement went outside the geographical boundaries allowed by their search warrant by searching more than one property. It also alleges the investigators "staged the scene...to manufacture a false impression of criminal endangerment" by gathering medical marijuana items and putting them together with hats featuring marijuana leaf prints, then "photographed the artificial spread to deceive the juvenile court."
The parents claim officials said they smelled of marijuana, had paraphernalia and "exhibited rambling speech," which the parents deny in the lawsuit. They add that drug testing didn't return any positive results for illicit substances or alcohol.
Their lawsuit claims that when the parents met with Missouri Child Division on March 4, officials separated their surviving children without cause or court order. The parents allege that a juvenile officer signed and backdated an authorization for temporary protective custody to a date prior to the day of Izsabella's death, which they claim was to "retroactively cover up the warrantless seizure."
Other claims made in the lawsuit include officials making false statements about the developmental capabilities of the surviving children, false statements claiming the parents had been neglectful in the past, and placing the surviving children with a non-family party instead of their biological grandparents.
While at a child advocacy facility, according to the lawsuit, the children "were subjected to highly invasive physical and forensic medical inspections of their private parts and genitals," which was done without any parent notification or consent and "without a judicial warrant."
Because of what they went through, the plaintiffs say Haas lost between $5,000 and $7,000 a week due to losing his contracting employment, and that O'Bryan lost wages due to having to take extended unpaid medical leave.
The lawsuit seeks a trial by jury. According to court records, the plaintiffs are representing themselves in the case.
