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Source: Tulsa World, Okla.mini storageAug. 15--Earlier this week in South Carolina, Baby Veronica's adoptive parents described her as being "kidnapped" and "held captive," demanding that law enforcement officials find her immediately.But those words didn't come up Wednesday in downtown Tulsa, where Matt and Melanie Capobianco held a press conference and called for a compromise to end the custody dispute."I'm here wide-eyed, open-minded," said Matt Capobianco, not ruling out the possibility of sharing custody of the 3-year-old.And by the end of the day, an attorney for Dusten Brown, Veronica's biological father, confirmed that negotiations were underway, telling the Tulsa World that the discussions could eventually include a face-to-face meeting between the two families.Putting pressure on Brown, Gov. Mary Fallin threatened to speed up the extradition process to South Carolina if he didn't compromise and allow the Capobiancos to visit Veronica.Brown faces a South Carolina charge of "custodial interference," which can carry a sentence of up to five years in prison upon conviction."Mr. and Mrs. Capobianco deserve an opportunity to meet with their adopted daughter," the governor said Wednesday."They also deserve the chance to meet with Mr. Brown and put an end to this conflict."A day earlier, the governor had promised not to send Brown to South Carolina until after a court hearing Sept. 12, when he plans to challenge the extradition request."If both parties are meeting in good faith," said Fallin's spokesman, Alex Weintz, "the governor has said she will wait until the September court date to review the extradition request."Brown's defense attorney told the Tulsa World that the governor shouldn't mix the criminal case with the civil dispute over custody."They're two completely separate legal issues," said Clark Brewster, adding that he had been in contact with the Governor's Office. "One involves a criminal allegation, and one involves what is in the best interests of Veronica."Brown has committed no crime and won't let the criminal case affect any decisions over his daughter's future, Brewster said.But Brewster was waiting Wednesday night to hear back from the Capobianco camp after "a lengthy conversation" with one of their attorneys.Earlier in the day, he had suggested that a possible compromise might involve having a "best interest" hearing in Oklahoma, where Veronica has lived with her biological family for nearly 20 months."That's the real issue," Brewster said. "What's best for Veronica?"Brown had already offered at least one compromise in recent weeks, suggesting that Veronica could spend summers in South Carolina and stay with him in Oklahoma the rest of the year.The Capobiancos have repeatedly said they hope Veronica's biological family will remain "a meaningful part of her life."But Brown has complained that such a vague promise wouldn't be legally enforceable."It's hard for us to say what we're going to do and what we're not going to do right here," Melanie Capobianco said at Wednesday's press conference, "because so many orders and so many promises have been broken."The couple arranged a private adoption with Brown's ex-fiancee and raised Veronica in a Charleston suburb for the first two years of her life.Brown, a member of the Cherokee Nation, says he was tricked into signing away his parental rights when he thought he was only giving custody to her birth mother.South Carolina courts gave him custody in December 2011, citing the federal Indian Child Welfare Act, which discourages placing Native American children outside their tribes.But the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June that the lower courts had misapplied the federal law. South Carolina has since given custody back to the adoptive parents, demanding that her biological father return the girl "immediately."Under Oklahoma law, Brown has until Aug. 23 to challenge that custody order in a state court."If it takes another week, another month, another decade," Matt Capobianco said, "we're not going anywhere."But he backed off a threat from earlier in the week to go looking for Veronica himself if authorities didn't find her."We're certainly not looking to do anything to upset anyone -- certainly not public officials or law enforcement," he said. "Obviously, we don't want to scare our daughter in some kind of confrontation."The morning press conference in Tulsa was followed by an afternoon court hearing in Charleston, where Brown's attorneys challenged a judge's demand that they reveal Veronica's location.In recent weeks, the family would say only that Veronica is safe with her paternal grandparents, who have guardianship under a Cherokee court order.As a member of the Cherokee Nation, Veroself storageica has a right to "full participation" in the tribe, said attorney Angel Smith, who has been appointed as independent counsel by the Cherokee Courts to represent the girl's best interest.Declining to comment on legal issues or express a preference in the custody dispute, Smith hopes people will remember the very real little girl who is caught in the middle of this uproar.Veronica loves to read, Smith said. She loves to be outside "and will try anything once," she said."She's 4. No one can deny that this is going to impact the rest of her life one way or another," Smith said. "It's wise to remember that she's not just a picture in the paper."TimelineSeptember 2009: Baby Veronica born in Oklahoma, taken to South Carolina for adoption.January 2010: Father, Dusten Brown, signs away custody but files an appeal a few days later.December 2011: Baby Veronica returns to Oklahoma after a family court in South Carolina grants custody to the father.July 2012: South Carolina Supreme Court upholds the custody decision.January: U.S. Supreme Court agrees to hear an appeal from the adoptive parents, Matt and Melanie Capobianco.April: U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments in the case.June 25: U.S. Supreme Court rules that federal law doesn't require that Veronica be given to her biological father. The court did not clear her adoptive parents to immediately regain custody.July 9: Cherokee Nation District Court officials confirm that Dusten Brown's mother and father, Tommy and Alice Brown, have filed for adoption of Veronica -- in line with Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor's dissenting opinion.July 17: Cherokee Nation courts name three of Dusten Brown's family members as joint guardians, giving them the power to make legal and medical decisions for Veronica and complicating the issue for South Carolina courts. Later that day, the South Carolina Supreme Court terminates Brown's parental rights and gives full custody to the adoptive parents.July 24: Christy Maldonado, Veronica's birth mother, files a lawsuit with several other women who have placed children for adoption, seeking to have part of the Indian Child Welfare Act declared unconstitutional.July 26: Dusten Brown files a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case and require South Carolina courts to hold a best-interest hearing for Veronica.July 31: Prior to a hearing on transition details for Veronica, a Cherokee Nation attorney appointed for Veronica files a federal lawsuit in South Carolina seeking to temporarily stop the hearing and hold a best-interest hearing. It is denied.Aug. 2: The U.S. Supreme Court denies Brown's July 26 petition. Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor were the only dissenters.Aug. 5: A South Carolina judge orders Brown to surrender custody "immediately" after he didn't bring Veronica to a court-ordered visitation with the adoptive parents in South Carolina.Aug. 9: South Carolina officials issue an arrest warrant for Brown. He is expected to be taken into custody in Iowa, where he is training with the Oklahoma National Guard.Aug. 10: National Guard officials grant Brown requested leave from training after he is subpoenaed to appear in Cherokee Nation tribal court for an emergency hearing in Tahlequah.Aug. 12: Brown does not appear at the emergency hearing. He turns himself in to authorities in Sequoyah County and is released after posting $10,000 bond. South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley signs a warrant for Brown's extradition and sends it to Gov. Mary Fallin for her approval.Aug. 13: Fallin declines to sign off on the warrant, saying Brown has a right to contest extradition in court. She says she will not act upon the warrant until after Brown's next extradition hearing on Sept. 12. Capobiancos arrive in Tulsa that night.Aug. 14: Capobiancos hold news conference in downtown Tulsa saying they had been denied a chance to see Veronica and meet with Brown. Fallin says she will speed up Brown's extradition to South Carolina if he does not allow the Capobiancos to see Veronica. A South Carolina family court judge reiterates that he wanted Veronica returned to the Capobiancos "forthwith."Upcoming court action:Aug. 23: Deadline for Brown to contest South Carolina's custody order in Oklahoma court.Sept. 4: A Cherokee tribal court will consider extending a temporary guardianship for Veronica's stepmother and grandparents, potentially claiming jurisdiction over the case.Sept. 12: Brown to return to Sequoyah County Court for a hearing on his extradition.Michael Overall 918-581-8383michael.overall@tulsaworld.comCopyright: ___ (c)2013 Tulsa World (Tulsa, Okla.) 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