Chapter 4 of The Finders

The Finders Network Is Made Public - The Tallahassee Florida 1987 Incident and Investigation - Part 14 / March 15/18, 1987

In an article dated March 12, 1987, Tallahassee Democrat reporter Jan Pudlow reported that Paula Arico, a member of the Finders, mentioned that the Christian social services agency Good News had offered her an apartment to stay in which she resides in Tallahassee while she was attempting to regain custody of her daughter from Florida Health and Rehabilitative Services, Jordan Arico. Paula Arico informed Pudlow that The Finders no longer existed and had been disbanded. However, it is untrue that The Finders ceased to exist; they at least continued in Culpeper, Virginia, until the death of their leader, Marion Pettie, and may have continued afterward. I believe Paula Arico divorced her husband, James Michael Holwell, and left The Finders after the incident in Tallahassee in February 1987. Paula Arico told Pudlow she was now “a single mom with an apartment and two kids, which was exactly what she had been trying to avoid her whole life”[1]

Jan Pudlow reported that Jordan Arico and James Michael Holwell Junior were happy to be with their mother, Paula Arico, and were well cared for. Paula Arico commented on how much James Michael Holwell Junior’s language skills had improved in just a few weeks since being removed from The Finders. Holwell Junior stayed with various Florida Health and Rehabilitative Services foster families and now resides with his mother. Jordan Arico’s custody will not be released back to Paula Arico until the court believes that Paula Arico will be able to provide adequate schooling for her daughter. Paula Arico admitted that although The Finders may have had good intentions when raising their children, they may not have done such a good job. Paula Arico stated, “This was not the first time the kids had been picked up; you know, there were two times before in Washington D.C.” Paula Arico continued, “If the plan were working, if we had the best possible situation for our kids, this would not have happened.”[2]