Mother Tried to Sell Her Kids on Facebook for $4,000

Here’s a quick parenting tip: It’s not OK to offer to sell your children on Facebook, even if you really need the money.

Misty VanHorn, a mother of two in Oklahoma, found that out the hard way over the weekend. VanHorn, 22, was arrested Saturday for alleged trafficking of minors on Facebook — offering her 10-month old and her 2 year-old for $4,000.

According to the police report, VanHorn offered the kids several times on the social network — offering the 10-month old girl for $1,000, or a package deal with the two of them for $4,000. And she had a taker.

VanHorn was dealing with a woman in Fort Smith, Ark., according to The Oklahoman. Which would mean she’ll be lucky if she isn’t charged with a federal crime: Fort Smith is just across the state line from VanHorn’s home in Sallisaw, Ok.

«Just come to Sallisaw, it’s only 30 minutes away and I’ll give you all of her stuff and let y’all have her forever for $1,000,» read VanHorn’s Facebook message to the Fort Smith woman, as unearthed in the police report by the Daily Dot.

Ironically, police believe VanHorn wanted the $1,000 to bail her boyfriend out of jail. Now she’s being held on a $40,000 bond. The children are in the custody of the state’s department of human services, which alerted the police in the first place.

A word of caution for anyone rushing to Facebook to find the alleged perpetrator: there are multiple Misty VanHorns on the social network. Two of them live in Oklahoma. One looks similar to the mugshot released by the Sequoyah County Police Department, but does not appear to live in VanHorn’s town, Sallisaw.