Help Us Seek Justice and Healing for Our Daughter

Hi,

For those who may not know us, we are Brandon and Tanya Merkelbach. We've been married for 12 years, parents to two beautiful daughters, and 3 fur babies. We are both employed, including owning small businesses. Like any family, we have our fair share of ups and downs but have always been able to weather the storms and pull through. However, currently we are a family doing everything we can to hold each other together. Recently, our world was shattered in an instant. From that moment forward, everything has changed.

We learned one of our daughters was targeted and harmed through an online platform. Due to active legal counsel and an ongoing law enforcement investigation, we are not sharing which daughter or which platform to protect our girls and to ensure nothing interferes with the pursuit of justice. IF this goes public and to the media, well you will know.

If you know our family, you know we don’t ask for help easily and are usually the ones jumping in to support others in need as it arises. If you don't know us:

Brandon is a high functioning individual who will go to no stop to support and assist anyone who needs help. His mentality is "I'm on it", whenever someone is in need. Brandon stems from a Military and Law Enforcement background, which if you know him, fits his personality well.

Tanya is just built different...it is HARD... for her to ask for anything. That woman is stubborn—she’ll juggle 100 things on her own before ever letting someone help. Normally she’s the one who shows up for others, organizes/assists with GoFundMe campaigns, rallies support, food shares, or whatever she can to assist...But this time… she’s creating one for our family.

Because the weight of this is just too much to carry alone.

How This Has Affected Us as Parents

“Our daughter confided in me directly. I’ve become her safe person—the one she slowly opens up to, piece by piece. And I stay composed in those moments, because she needs to feel safe. But when she falls asleep, I break. I fall apart. I process things no parent should ever have to hear—and I grieve what’s been taken. It feels like a part of me has died.

I was already in therapy for past trauma, finally starting to heal… and then this happened. It shattered everything. Now, therapy is not optional, it’s the only way I can survive this to show up for my daughter, and be a steady anchor for our family.” —Tanya

“Once this came out, there were days my daughter, my little girl, couldn't call me Dad. She still has days she doesn’t want help from me simply because I’m a male. And even though I know this is trauma and try not to personalize it, it still breaks me. I feel the disconnection deep in my soul. I carry the guilt of not being able to protect her when this happened and not knowing this was even happening.

As a father, there’s no worse feeling than watching your child suffer and not being able to take the pain away.” —Brandon

We both carry the devastating truth that our daughter didn’t feel safe enough to tell us what was happening sooner—because the predator who hurt her manipulated her and made threats to keep her silent. That knowledge is a wound we will always carry. But it’s also why we won’t stop until there’s justice—not just for our child, but for every other child who’s been harmed and silenced by people like this. We are dedicated to finding justice for our daughter and accountability for those who took her innocence, took advantage of her vulnerability, and created a platform where she and others are susceptible to predatory behavior.

Why We’re Asking for Help

This trauma has affected every part of our lives:

We want to be transparent:

Every donation will go directly toward legal support, therapy, and recovery efforts for our daughter and our family.

By Supporting Us, You’re Helping:

If you can give, there is no amount to big or small—please know how much it means.

If you can’t support financially, we ask that you simply share this story to assist and keep us in yours prayers, thoughts and hearts.

Every act of kindness brings us one step closer to healing. One step closer to justice.

From the bottom of our hearts,

Thank you for standing with us.

— Brandon, Tanya, K, K + Riley (Dog), Opie & Max (Adopted Kitten brothers).