How can I have the court bring my daughter back to me?

[Artemis Agrotera]

I assume when you say "she was told not to leave" that she was told by you not to leave. (If she was told by a judge that she couldn't leave, then you could have filed a contempt motion and a judge could have ordered the child returned to you.

My guess is that the judge doesn't necessarily believe that your mother served your ex with the legal paperwork. It sounds as though the judge isn't convinced that she was properly served.

You might consider asking the court to give you permission to serve via Facebook and by publication. This means you would take out a newspaper ad in a Portland newspaper and you would also send her a message on Facebook that tells her about the court action. If you have her mother's name and address, you could also ask for permission to serve her by mailing the documents to her mother's house.