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Dana Ross

Dana Ross was a Portland resident, the former wife of David Ross, and the mother of Drake Ross, Danny Ross, and Darren Ross. David’s alcoholism and Dana’s emotional volatility, criticism, neglect, and failure to protect the children made their household unsafe. Dana and David opposed Danny’s petition to become Darren’s guardian, but the court appointed him in early 2014. Dana remained estranged from Danny and Darren after the case. She later left and divorced David.

Family and Core Relationships

David Ross

Dana was married to David Ross during the custody dispute. His alcoholism destabilized the household, and Dana supported him during the case rather than separating herself from his effort to retain custody. She later left and divorced him.

When Danny was hospitalized after a severe vomiting episode at seventeen, Dana challenged David’s claim that he was exaggerating or faking his illness. She had seen Danny become unresponsive and heard how dangerously low his potassium had fallen; she told David that Danny was sick and warned him not to come to the hospital to accuse their son. Back at home, Dana and Darren pressed for Danny to rest and follow his doctors’ advice while David and Drake dismissed the severity of his condition. Dana’s defense during that crisis did not continue into the custody case, when she joined David in arguing that Danny’s illness made him unfit to care for Darren.

When a doctor also recommended care for Danny’s depression and suspected ADHD, David treated the recommendation as criticism of his parenting. Dana asked the doctor to do what Danny needed, but feared that an investigation would separate her from her sons.

Drake Ross

Dana and David treated their oldest son, Drake, as the favored child. Drake received material support and approval that they denied to Danny and Darren.

Danny Ross

Dana did not reliably meet Danny’s or Darren’s care needs. Danny assumed responsibility for feeding Darren, ensuring that he attended school, and protecting him from the household’s volatility.

When seventeen-year-old Danny became barely responsive in the bathtub after a severe vomiting episode, Dana initially hesitated to call for help. Darren dialed 911 himself. As Danny shivered and struggled to stay awake, Dana tried to keep him conscious and sent Drake for towels. At the hospital, she learned how dangerous Danny’s dehydration and low potassium had become.

At the hospital, Jess confronted Dana about how long Danny’s illness had been dismissed before he received help. Their relationship remained tense. Jess objected when Dana let David insult Danny after he left high school and completed his GED, and again when Danny and Jess married. Later, Jess also challenged Dana’s failure to defend their son Caleb against the family’s treatment of his disabilities.

After turning eighteen, Danny petitioned to become Darren’s legal guardian. Dana and David opposed him and argued that his age, chronic illness, education, and financial circumstances made him unfit to care for his brother.

Darren Ross

Darren told the court that he felt unsafe in his parents’ home and wanted to live with Danny. The court considered his statement and appointed Danny as his guardian, placing Darren in Danny’s legal custody.

Danny’s care buffered Darren from some of their parents’ neglect, but Darren knew enough about the household to tell the court why he did not feel safe there. After the ruling, he did not reestablish a relationship with Dana. Danny and Jess’s son Caleb never knew his paternal grandmother.

2013–2014 Custody Case

Main article: 2013–2014 Portland Custody Battle Arc

A child-welfare investigation began in late 2013 after emergency medics witnessed one of David’s aggressive outbursts and Darren’s pediatric neurologist filed a second report. The resulting proceedings included home evaluations, guardian-ad-litem interviews, multiple hearings, Darren’s direct statement to the court, and a severe flare of Danny’s cyclic vomiting syndrome during the first contested hearing.

Dana and David characterized Danny’s chronic illness as evidence that he could not provide stable care. The court rejected that argument, found the parental household unsafe, and appointed Danny as Darren’s legal guardian in early 2014. Dana and David’s contact with Darren was supervised.

After the ruling, Dana and David blamed Danny for the family’s rupture rather than accepting responsibility for the conditions documented during the case. The estrangement continued through Danny’s death in 2022 and afterward.

Characters Minor Characters Living Characters Ross Family