In January 1978, Stoen traveled to Georgetown in an unsuccessful bid to take custody of the child.Reiterman, Tim and John Jacobs. Raven: The Untold Story of Rev. Jim Jones and His People. Dutton, 1982. . p. 380 A Guyanese judge recused himself from the case because his life had been threatened, and the new judge had to restart the process from the beginning. A Guyanese official approached Stoen and told him to leave immediately one week before his visa expired.Reiterman, Tim and John Jacobs. Raven: The Untold Story of Rev. Jim Jones and His People. Dutton, 1982. . p. 414 While at the airport, three Temple members surrounded Stoen and threatened his life unless he dropped his legal action. Although Stoen wanted to travel to Jonestown to retrieve John, he thought "if I went back, I thought I would probably be a corpse within thirty days."
