MI MI - Tanner Lucas, Alexander William, & Andrew Ryan Skelton, Morenci, 26 Nov 2010 #4

[catydid]

The reason I asked if there were toxicology reports a few pages back was because when you look at those pictures of him in the wheelchair, he looks like he's been strung out on something. His beard is all scraggly, his face sunken, etc. He doesn't look healthy, at all. Not like those pics that were posted on his myspace account. I know they would probably have given him some sort of sedative while in the hospital, but the way he looked, it would take longer than a few days to get an appearance like that. I don't know how much crank goes on around here, but there's quite a bit of meth.

 

[not_my_kids]

We know that it has been reported that their coats were still at the house, but what about their inhalers? I was not aware that two of the boys had asthma until today.

 

[redtailhawk]

This is interesting...

http://www.williamscountyhistory.org/wchs_sites.shtml

Wonder if he would consider any/all of these as resembling an "old schoolhouse". And look where they are located....

More info on old schools in Williams and Fulton Counties. When they first talked about abandoned schools, I immediately remembered the school at Chesterfield south of Morenci. google this address and go to streetview
15927 US 20, Wauseon OH

I'm guessing the searched the abandoned highschool in Pioneer, OH

At the links below if you get empty picture boxes, click on them anyway and they give you pics of the schools.

http://www.oldohioschools.com/williams_county.htm

http://www.oldohioschools.com/fulton_county.htm

 

[CarrieBean]

Snipped for space

As I think I am the only one on this board who thinks that JS may have hidden his kids rather than killed them, I want to try one more time to explain why:

My heart is on the opposite side of the fence than my mind. I don't think we know enough about JS to know what kind of person and father he really was. Trying to hold out hope that his mother and sister are right, and that he's not a monster. Or that he snapped. Or that he was on drugs and lost it. More so now after reading about the kid's personalities.

Hearing Weeks say publicly that they're not expecting a positive outcome says a lot though.

 

[Reannan]

I am glad we still have people on the board who are holding out hope that the boys are alive and just being held somewhere "safe". It is always good to hold out hope. Sadly, I am in the camp that believes they are deceased and I am obsessed now with locating their bodies, giving them a burial that they deserve, and seeing justice for what happened to them. I realize JS's family in Florida is supporting him, but I have seen that before. I don't know what their circumstances are, but the fact that none of them have traveled to Michigan/Ohio is bothersome to me. How could you NOT if your grandchild or nephews were missing? How could you not if your son was in the hospital for a "suicide" attempt and then in jail for kidnapping? I don't mean to bash his family. Quiet the opposite - something is wrong for them to not be able to travel and support their family member IMHO. It has no bearing on what happened to the kids, but certainly offers a different view into what kind of support system JS had to help him thru all of the recent events that seemed to be raining down on him.

 

[wannabedetective]

The longer he waits and they don't find anything more the information becomes valuable and his negotiating power increases. How much is worth to family to bury their boys? Enough for a reduced charge?

How much does he enjoy the attention and the power of holding the answers? That may hold a lot of value.

That he hasn't told them yet is not a good sign. It has been a long time. The ones that feel guilty or can't hold up to questioning usually break pretty early on.

...and didn't he lawyer-up? I would think the lawyer told him to shut up. I think I read a couple of days ago that he stopped giving information to the police.

 

[nanny2five]

I am glad we still have people on the board who are holding out hope that the boys are alive and just being held somewhere "safe". It is always good to hold out hope. Sadly, I am in the camp that believes they are deceased and I am obsessed now with locating their bodies, giving them a burial that they deserve, and seeing justice for what happened to them. I realize JS's family in Florida is supporting him, but I have seen that before. I don't know what their circumstances are, but the fact that none of them have traveled to Michigan/Ohio is bothersome to me. How could you NOT if your grandchild or nephews were missing? How could you not if your son was in the hospital for a "suicide" attempt and then in jail for kidnapping? I don't mean to bash his family. Quiet the opposite - something is wrong for them to not be able to travel and support their family member IMHO. It has no bearing on what happened to the kids, but certainly offers a different view into what kind of support system JS had to help him thru all of the recent events that seemed to be raining down on him.

reannan i totally agree with you. i believe the boys are gone too. i am holding a tiny sliver of hope that maybe they are in hiding somewhere and js family knows it and thats why they are not in panic/terror mode. i cant understand why they havent gone to mi. i would walk there if i didnt have money for the plane or train fare. i think if they were safe and sound being cared for he would have told and also he would be more cocky about it. in the recent pics he doesnt look like a man who is proud of himself for causing all the trouble like some we have seen. he looked broken. i pray they find them today. my heart hurts for their mother.

 

[Gene]

I realize JS's family in Florida is supporting him, but I have seen that before. I don't know what their circumstances are, but the fact that none of them have traveled to Michigan/Ohio is bothersome to me. How could you NOT if your grandchild or nephews were missing? How could you not if your son was in the hospital for a "suicide" attempt and then in jail for kidnapping? I don't mean to bash his family. Quiet the opposite - something is wrong for them to not be able to travel and support their family member IMHO. It has no bearing on what happened to the kids, but certainly offers a different view into what kind of support system JS had to help him thru all of the recent events that seemed to be raining down on him.

It is not just his family it is his wife as well!

Imagine,

* JS had just taken her babies not once but twice
* TS was awarded exclusive custody by a judge
* But after the judge gives her exclusive custody, she negotiates visitations rights with him.

During the custody battle JS drags out the sex offender issue "John Skelton filed a motion for custody on Sept. 27, saying his wife was a registered sex offender"

But what does TS say about JS? "Tanya Skelton said in a motion filed the same day as the divorce complaint that John Skelton's work as a truck driver kept him "on the road for weeks at a time." When he is home it's for a maximum of "two to three days at a time," she claimed.

http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/...Custody+battle+preceded+3+boys++disappearance

TS did not see JS as a bad father or a risk to her children. She is even now very quiet about all of this. No tearful press conferences. She is not pleading for her children to be returned. I am not slamming her for this. I just think that she knows JS alot better than anyone and her actions before and after the disappearance say alot.

Why do I keep pressing the point? I am worried that all of the resources are going into finding bodies somewhere nearby and not for finding boys possibly very away. This is a story that needs to be on Americas Most Wanted.

 

[Java]

It has no bearing on what happened to the kids, but certainly offers a different view into what kind of support system JS had to help him thru all of the recent events that seemed to be raining down on him.
---------------------
I’m thinking that too.
He’s less than 1000 mils away! He’s not in Seattle or something! (heck even if he was, they still make planes ya know)
JS was in the military for a while, Anchorage AL. They may be use to not being around him. Maybe they just aren’t a close family, maybe they can’t travel, maybe he’s ask them not to????
Maybe they know him better than we think!

But it seems weird to me also. If it were one of my kid’s, I’d of been there a LONG time ago.
Seems strange that the mother and her side of the family are being so quiet too. If my kids were missing, you couldn’t shut me up!! I can see her not searching, and not wanting to make a find but, I’d be down there helping to feed everyone, or doing something!! I couldn’t just stay holed up at home, it would drive me nuts.
Guess everyone is different. JMO

 

[nanny2five]

The reason I asked if there were toxicology reports a few pages back was because when you look at those pictures of him in the wheelchair, he looks like he's been strung out on something. His beard is all scraggly, his face sunken, etc. He doesn't look healthy, at all. Not like those pics that were posted on his myspace account. I know they would probably have given him some sort of sedative while in the hospital, but the way he looked, it would take longer than a few days to get an appearance like that. I don't know how much crank goes on around here, but there's quite a bit of meth.

crank and meth are the same thing, catydid. i agree that his look changed drastically and that is a sign of something terribly wrong. i think it might be meth as well. he is sick.

 

[believe09]

It has no bearing on what happened to the kids, but certainly offers a different view into what kind of support system JS had to help him thru all of the recent events that seemed to be raining down on him.
---------------------
I’m thinking that too.
He’s less than 1000 mils away! He’s not in Seattle or something! (heck even if he was, they still make planes ya know)
JS was in the military for a while, Anchorage AL. They may be use to not being around him. Maybe they just aren’t a close family, maybe they can’t travel, maybe he’s ask them not to????
Maybe they know him better than we think!

But it seems weird to me also. If it were one of my kid’s, I’d of been there a LONG time ago.
Seems strange that the mother and her side of the family are being so quiet too. If my kids were missing, you couldn’t shut me up!! I can see her not searching, and not wanting to make a find but, I’d be down there helping to feed everyone, or doing something!! I couldn’t just stay holed up at home, it would drive me nuts.
Guess everyone is different. JMO

I think it is fair to discuss mom's silence to a degree, but I think her silence is completely appropriate given that she likely knows more than the rest of us do regarding the investigation. And if she permitted the visitation, there is no greater hell than the one she will put herself through if he killed them.

 

[Reannan]

I am also surprised we haven't seen TS in the media with any statements. I wonder if it is perhaps because of her RSO status (which I do not believe has anything to do with this case)? I think she probably believes because of the RSO, any public appearances from her would only cause media focus on her past rather than her missing boys. Then again, she may just be completely broken and grief ridden and torn up inside because of guilt. I am sure she feels guilty about letting the boys go spend Thanksgiving with JS. Since they were in church the previous Sunday together and seemed to be getting along together, I guess I am not really surprised she let the boys go with him. Even in a divorce where the two parents are fighting like cats and dogs, the children usually love both parents. :waitasec:

 

[Java]

I agree there, if she allowed the visitation, I can only imagine how she must be feeling. I know how I would feel.
She must have been trying to do something “workable” in the divorce, and the kids probably wanted to see their dad too. I do feel terrible for her on that account.

 

[Java]

Regardless of either parents past, good or bad. JS knows where the boy’s are. If they are deceased, and where they are hidden. Or if they are alive and with someone somewhere.
And him not telling, is disgusting and irreprehensible.

No matter how good of a father some say he has been. This is not the signs of a good father.
If the boy’s are alive, I’m sure they would want to go home to their mother.
If they are deceased, and he won’t even allow them a proper burial.
Either way, where do any of his friends and family, get “good father” out of that?

I’m just sick of hearing all these good fluffy stories about JS!! From the sister, the mother, the neighbors, the friends, etc……
He could have been made of gold in his past, he isn’t now! And I am talking about NOW. Where are those boy’s JS?.
However “good” he was in his past is moot now. All I see is selfish, cowardly, narcissist behavior. With not one ounce of concern for the well being of those little boy’s.

Whom I might add had no choice or control in either of their parents decisions!

 

[peeples]

"Every time I would talk to him he would have a pretty deep conversation with you," Principal Mary Fisher said. "His language development is middle school to high school. He was just very mature in what he would say."


This is JUST like my 9 yr old. The one who would go crazy scouring the house looking for me before dialing 911 saying I left him home alone when I was only having a phone conversation.

Something is not right about that kids dialing 911 and him the dad saying he was just talking on the phone... maybe he IS on crank and passed out tired for a bit.. maybe on another drug.. heroin can knock you out after the small high maybe he was on the phone but it sure as heck would have had to of been for a long time and he would have had to sequestered himself somewhere.. and first thing when kids can't find parents is DAAAAAAD! Then it progressively gets louder LOL.
Maybe he was outside in the garage doing something... or in the yard...talking on phone, getting high.. visiting with somoene in person.. whatever he was really doing he didn't want the boys hearing or seeing. I just don't believe he was in his room having JUST a phone conversation.

JMHO...

 

[athy]

everyone asks why TS hasn't made any statements or appeared on tv. perhaps she feels that JS hated her so much to do this that by talking it might aggravate him even more to the point he clams up period. maybe she's afraid if she pleas for them that it would give him enough enjoyment that he never would tell where they are. she might think by staying out of the picture he'll calm down enough and soon tire of the fact she's not responding and will finally tell them.

 

[MomofBoys]

I absolutely don't fault TS for her silence. I'd be more surprised and concerned if she wasn't curled up in a fetal position right now. I have three young boys and the thought of losing them sends me into a near panic attack. I can't fathom what she's going through, and she knows far more than we do, I'm sure. For them to tell her that the outcome wasn't going to be good tells me that JS gave them something credible or that they have some manner of physical evidence. I don't think they'd demoralize the mother if all they had was their guts that foul play occured.

I think we're seeing in his family what we see in KC's. Blind, desperate faith that the man they know and love isn't the worst kind of monster. I don't think the human brain is equipped to deal with that sort of thing and if it helps them cope to believe their brother/son/friend isn't capable of killing three innocents, than so be it. It's just too bad, because the family could probably get information from him. Offering support and forgiveness in exchange for the truth. Whether the support is real or the forgiveness is legit, I think more confessions are borne out of the need to find someone who will stick by them. Complicating this issue with JS is the possibility that he feels no guilt (I'm not so sure) and that his family hasn't rushed to be by his side.

I think they're gone. I've tried speculating on scenarios where someone connected to JS would take the boys in and not cave under this incredible police and media pressure. Who would have that much invested in keeping the boys hidden? JS is really the only one and he's not talking. Unless the boys are in a storage unit somewhere huddled under blankets and eating peanut butter crackers, I don't see it. And even then JS is an incredible sociopath. It's been eight days. The boys have to be miserable and frightened. And if they are alive, why keep this up? He can't have his boys in prison, and that's where he's going already.

Tragic. I will never understand why people who want custody so badly will kill the children to punish the spouse. Unless, of course, the custody was always about control. I just don't get that impression here. It just must evolve into evil over time.

 

[Java]

From bits and pieces of all the reports, all the way from the original kidnapping to FL, to the police officer saying one child greeted him in toy police officer gear and saying he wanted to be a police officer just like him, to the mistaken 911 call, seems like the police were somewhat “regulars” to this family?. There may have been other reports we aren’t hearing about? Or other incidences? (and maybe not)

Many people live their whole lives and never have a police officer at their door! Just seems quirky under the circumstances that “police” are mentioned so many times? Maybe that’s just me? Maybe that’s just journalism!

Does seem like if you were just "on the phone" the kids would of been hollering & looking for you, before calling 911! JMO but who knows?

 

[wannabedetective]

everyone asks why TS hasn't made any statements or appeared on tv. perhaps she feels that JS hated her so much to do this that by talking it might aggravate him even more to the point he clams up period. maybe she's afraid if she pleas for them that it would give him enough enjoyment that he never would tell where they are. she might think by staying out of the picture he'll calm down enough and soon tire of the fact she's not responding and will finally tell them.

Reading about so many cases including Sylar Newton and Zahra Baker, I often wonder what I would do as a parent. Although you never know how you would truly respond in that type of situation, I have to admit, the type of person I am, I'd probably avoid the press/media. I'm a fairly private person and as long as I was able to determine that LE was doing everything they could, I'd probably lay low too.

Just throwing that out there as a possible reason for her silence. It may just be her personality. She's already been crucified in the media for her past; she may prefer not to be scrutinized any more that she has been already.

Hope I made sense.

 

[Texas Mist]

Volunteers likely to continue search for missing Morenci boys
Police suspending organized searches after Friday

Updated: Friday, 03 Dec 2010, 10:03 AM EST
Published : Friday, 03 Dec 2010, 9:42 AM EST
By JOHN SEEWER - Associated Press

MORENCI, Mich. (AP) - Each day for nearly a week, volunteers have trudged through muddy fields and climbed through ditches around this small southern Michigan town, searching for three young brothers last seen at their father's home on Thanksgiving Day.

It's a search that has consumed Morenci, a town of about 2,000 residents 75 miles southwest of Detroit, prompting the cancelation of Saturday's annual Christmas parade and shutting down City Hall so it could be used as a command center. So even with authorities saying they will suspend the official efforts during the weekend as they figure out what to do next, it's unlikely the volunteers will stop looking for Andrew, 9, Alexander, 7, and Tanner Skelton, 5.

"The people who know the kids, they'll all be out," said Roger Pontius, of Morenci, adding that his son plans to come home from college for the weekend just to help search.


more here

http://www.foxtoledo.com/dpp/news/local/Morenci-Mich-volunteers-likely-to-continue-search