Radio Legend Casey Kasem Declared Missing

Casey Kasem, the legendary radio DJ perhaps best known for his work as the voice actor behind Shaggy on Scooby Doo, has gone missing. In one of the stranger, more troubling stories to come out of the celebrity woodwork in some time, the lawyer for Kasem's wife flat-out told the court he has no idea where the 82-year-old is. This, after a Los Angeles court named Kasem's daughter, Kerri Kasem, his temporary conservator, a role which grants her final say in the financial affairs and daily life of her father due to his physical infirmities and advanced age.

Troy Martin, the attorney for Kerri Kasem, stated that his client was of the opinion that her father had been moved to an Indian reservation in Washington state, since this is apparently where you go when you want to hide a bonafide radio legend. However, the attorney for Jean Kasem, Casey's second (and current) wife, claims Casey had been taken out of the country altogether, which is troubling on another level entirely. To make matters worse, Jean's attorney, Craig Marcus, would go on to clarify, "I have no idea where he is." According to the Associated Press, "Stunned protests" from Kerri and Julie Kasem and attorney Martin followed, which is probably putting it lightly.

In response to this revelation, Judge Murphy ordered a court-appointed investigator to discover Casey Kasem's whereabouts as soon as possible, out of concern for the health of the indisposed legend. Furthermore, previously sealed medical records and related information will now be made available to Kerri Kasem as a result of her new role as her father's temporary conservator.

"I believe my father's wife fled the country (or possibly went to an Indian Reservation) with my Dad because she knew I would win in court today," Kerri Kasem declared, on Facebook, of all places. "The judge ordered Adult Protective Services, the PVP [Probate Volunteer Panel] Attorney and the police to look for him."

Kasem would go on to add: "Please pray that he is safe."

So how did this mess get started? Well, it's kind of a long story...

This basically began as the result of a protracted legal battle between Casey's second wife, Jean, and the Kasem children: Kerri, her brother Mouner, and the three adult children from Casey Kasem's first marriage. The problem has been ongoing since roughly around October of last year, as the Kasem children stormed their father's Holmby Hills home after claiming that Jean was refusing to allow them to see their ailing father. As documented in the media, Casey Kasem is in the advanced stages of Parkinson's disease, and much has been made of the attempts by the Kasem children to see their father. However, Jean insists there's another side to the story, as she filed against her husband's three eldest children in open court last November, following the incident at Holmby Hills:

"These children falsely claim that their stepmother is wicked and is keeping her husband prisoner in his home behind closed doors and that they no longer have access to him through no fault of their own. …," the statement said, according to The Hollywood Reporter. "For reasons they know all too well, their presence at this stage would be toxic and extremely distressing for Casey, Jean and their daughter, Liberty, who have had enough of their cruelty."

Credit: NBCNews.com

Further details via Los Angeles Times:

A previous visitation case brought by daughter Julie Kasem was dismissed in December after she said she, her brother Mike and Jean Kasem had reached an agreement — one that has allegedly since been been breached.

After the dismissal, Troy Martin noted that the agreement did not apply to Kerri, only Julie and Mike, setting the table for the case that was heard in court Monday.

"We think the visitation terms are too restrictive," Martin told People in December. "There hasn't been an agreement reached between Kerri and Jean. It could require us to file another conservatorship. We're still in negotiations."

At the time of the settlement, Mike Kasem told reporters that his dad was in a hospital, THR reported. A few weeks later, Mouner Kasem, who lives in Michigan, saw his brother for the first time in a year. Mike and Julie were not 100% pleased with their deal but decided to take what they could get so they could see their father, according to the trade publication.

While Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Daniel S. Murphy ordered a doctor to look into Kasem's health, the mystery surrounding the beloved radio personality's whereabouts seriously complicates matters. Although Casey and Jean Kasem have been married since December 1980, and have one child together, Liberty Irene Kasem, the other Kasem children believe that their stepmother is intentionally keeping them in the dark about their father. All in all, this is a very disturbing situation, and one we hope has a swift resolution, for the sake of all involved, particularly Casey Kasem himself.

Via: Los Angeles Times