In 2006, a man moved to the island with his 15-year-old niece, Mariah. While Linda sensed there was something strange about their dynamic, she would have never guessed that the man was molesting his niece. After Mariah ran into the house of one of Linda's friends in tears, explaining that she didn't want to go back to her uncle, Linda was nominated by her peers on the island to become her legal guardian. Linda was 46 years old at the time.

It was later learned that Linda's daughter is named Sarai Johnson and Mariah was a pseudonym.