Found Deceased NC - Maddox Ritch, 6 w/Autism, Gastonia, 22 Sept 2018 #2

[Snalldog2]

I've been out for a while but heard sad news on the radio. Sadly, I think many of us expected this outcome. Please post links for press conference for those of us who are not local. Thanks.

Is there a pic of where he was found? A women on Facebook circled an area of a creek from drone footage where she felt she saw orange which would be his shirt.

I have always thought outside the box, not always seeking out the most logical scenarios. Working for the judicial system for 17 years has only heighten my out of the box senses. I may be "Smalldog", but I know the smell of flopping fish out of water trying to breathe. Something smells fishy in Gastonia!

 

[Steelslady]

Thank you! I have utter disdain for this guy, tell the police yes, but to tell the media was utterly heartless imo. Not much of a conscious as to how putting that out into the world would effect the father and actually, for me, the fact that he's the kind of person who could do that, makes me take his opinion with a pinch of salt.

I will wait and see if there is a reason to have utter disdain for the park ranger or not. I admit, it was a bold statement by him. However, it's in the back of my mind- why would he risk losing a job that he loved, his own reputation, and go against what LE and the FBI said? He seemed genuinely upset, he made the call to 911 himself without much information about Maddox, and he went searching for him, too. What did he have to gain by making such a statement?

 

[Steelslady]

quote not working. sorry.

 

[MLE926]

Hey All I am new Here.. Just Curious if anyone else noticed him saying this in his interview? Father Said He Worried when he "Got Back"

 

[DisturbedConcerned]

THANK YOU!!! I was hoping one of the three forum members here that stated they were local to and familiar with the park would postively verify this to be true!

My apologies I meant to quote this on another's post , However I believe your correct on there being two places where that is possible on the northeast side of the lake.

 

[kc1023]

IMO the park ranger guy was obviously upset and concerned and though he may have spoken out of turn, HE is the one who was actually there and was able to form an opinion of the circumstances and reactions of those involved. He clearly found it suspicious and that's ok. Whether or not it should have aired is a different story but I personally can't fault him for speaking what was on his mind about a very troubling situation he was part of. It's actually, I think, better to have his firsthand original information than for him to have sat on it for awhile and it fades a bit in his memory. Again, IMO.

 

[JC40]

Forgive me if this has already been posted.

Excluding his Father and the "friend", who else has positively identified seeing Maddox at the park, and have they officially come forward and made a statement to MSM?

 

[DisturbedConcerned]

That is an interesting perspective and it does appear his very bold and pointed statements which tip-toed right up to the line of being direct accusations have been conflicted by people other than LEO who actually saw Maddox in the park that day.

LE seemingly was not in the park that day to verify they sighted Maddox prior to his going missing so their conclusions are dependent on witnesses.

Am I correct?

Now his motivation for doing so can only be speculated upon and in the big picture, are not relevant.

I will wait and see if there is a reason to have utter disdain for the park ranger or not. I admit, it was a bold statement by him. However, it's in the back of my mind- why would he risk losing a job that he loved, his own reputation, and go against what LE and the FBI said? He seemed genuinely upset, he made the call to 911 himself without much information about Maddox, and he went searching for him, too. What did he have to gain by making such a statement?

 

[Isabelle]

In my opinion, there's no way. This was definitely an accident. Just where Maddox was found... if an adult forced their way in there to hide his body... there would be ample evidence of that. I don't think anyone was there other than Maddox. I just hope he did not suffer.




There was one here recently. Scaled a fence, climbed on top of a transformer box and was immediately electrocuted. I have thought many times about how horrific that must have been for his mother to watch happen while she was powerless to stop it.

Man electrocuted after climbing atop transformer box in power substation yard | KSL.com

First responders found the man who had scaled the fence of substation yard and climbed on a large transformer box. Upon making contact with high voltage wires, the man was instantly electrocuted, Barlow said.

-----------------------------

Prior to the incident, the man was with his mother, who had stopped at a nearby business for a few minutes while he waited in the car. When she returned to the vehicle, the man was gone, Barlow said.

The man’s mother called for help before she located him within the fenced-in substation yard. The man climbed the transformer box within seconds, she told authorities.

Autistic man electrocuted in Hildale after climbing atop transformer


"The outcome was obvious," Barlow continued.

A power company lineman arrived within minutes and shut down the electricity. For safety reasons, crews waited until all lines were grounded and were able to slide the young man down a ladder ramp after police investigated.

In the past, the man "has scaled tall fences, climbed onto roofs and climbed tall trees," Barlow said.






My friend is now 8 years out from her full term still birth. Her sweet girl was born just before Christmas.
Each year Christmas has been a source of pain and dread. They don't stay home for Christmas, they go out of town every year.

A few days ago she said "it's officially fall, my longing for all things Christmas has begun!"

Longing?! I was so excited that she is excited about it this year. She's turned that corner. There are still sad times but she's able to enjoy the holidays again.

In my opinion, there's no way. This was definitely an accident. Just where Maddox was found... if an adult forced their way in there to hide his body... there would be ample evidence of that. I don't think anyone was there other than Maddox. I just hope he did not suffer.




There was one here recently. Scaled a fence, climbed on top of a transformer box and was immediately electrocuted. I have thought many times about how horrific that must have been for his mother to watch happen while she was powerless to stop it.

Man electrocuted after climbing atop transformer box in power substation yard | KSL.com

First responders found the man who had scaled the fence of substation yard and climbed on a large transformer box. Upon making contact with high voltage wires, the man was instantly electrocuted, Barlow said.

-----------------------------

Prior to the incident, the man was with his mother, who had stopped at a nearby business for a few minutes while he waited in the car. When she returned to the vehicle, the man was gone, Barlow said.

The man’s mother called for help before she located him within the fenced-in substation yard. The man climbed the transformer box within seconds, she told authorities.

Autistic man electrocuted in Hildale after climbing atop transformer


"The outcome was obvious," Barlow continued.

A power company lineman arrived within minutes and shut down the electricity. For safety reasons, crews waited until all lines were grounded and were able to slide the young man down a ladder ramp after police investigated.

In the past, the man "has scaled tall fences, climbed onto roofs and climbed tall trees," Barlow said.






My friend is now 8 years out from her full term still birth. Her sweet girl was born just before Christmas.
Each year Christmas has been a source of pain and dread. They don't stay home for Christmas, they go out of town every year.

A few days ago she said "it's officially fall, my longing for all things Christmas has begun!"

Longing?! I was so excited that she is excited about it this year. She's turned that corner. There are still sad times but she's able to enjoy the holidays again.

Yes, for me it was 8 years before I turned the corner. Before that I was a zombie walking through hell. No one can ever imagine and I pray no one ever has the experience.

 

[Isabelle]

Replies are getting mixed with the wrong posts.

 

[DisturbedConcerned]

A statement was given by a disinterested person who was at the park to the affect that, Madddox had run upon them and "his mother" caught up with him speaking to him. Maddox did not speak to "his mother" and I don't recall if they stated he ran off or went with "his mother".

Forgive me if this has already been posted.

Excluding his Father and the "friend", who else has positively identified seeing Maddox at the park, and have they officially come forward and made a statement to MSM?

 

[DisturbedConcerned]

Can you supply that imagery or video?

Is there a pic of where he was found? A women on Facebook circled an area of a creek from drone footage where she felt she saw orange which would be his shirt.

 

[JC40]

A statement was given by a disinterested person who was at the park to the affect that, Madddox had run upon them and "his mother" caught up with him speaking to him. Maddox did not speak to "his mother" and I don't recall if they stated he ran off or went with "his mother".

Thank you

Not they anyone has to or should, i'm wondering why the above mentioned witness or anyone else has not appeared in person (interviewed) on Tv/radio etc, to categorically back up Maddox's Father that he was chasing him.

 

[DisturbedConcerned]

I cannot say that from what I read about the statement that it was indeed speaking to the actual chase where the child was no longer under the supervision of an adult.

I could just as easily assume they were describing earlier and before the child is alleged to have gotten away chasing a jogger.

The only thing I was able to extract from the statement was somebody else saw him at the park that day. It is reasonable to conclude this is at least one basis as to why LEO officially stated they were satisfied Maddox was indeed there as told to them by the adults who had custody of him prior to his disappearance, and in direct conflict to the assertions offered by the park staff who made the 911 call.

Thank you

Not they anyone has to or should, i'm wondering why the above mentioned witness or anyone else has not appeared in person (interviewed) on Tv/radio etc, to categorically back up Maddox's Father that he was chasing him.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

IMO the park ranger guy was obviously upset and concerned and though he may have spoken out of turn, HE is the one who was actually there and was able to form an opinion of the circumstances and reactions of those involved. He clearly found it suspicious and that's ok. Whether or not it should have aired is a different story but I personally can't fault him for speaking what was on his mind about a very troubling situation he was part of. It's actually, I think, better to have his firsthand original information than for him to have sat on it for awhile and it fades a bit in his memory. Again, IMO.

I cannot fault the park ranger for speaking out, either. As you indicated, he was the first person to encounter the father who was unable to locate his son. During his tenure at Rankin Lake Park, perhaps the park ranger has encountered other parents whose children have been missing, albeit temporarily, in the park. In that case, based on his personal experience, Maddox's father and/or girlfriend were not as panicked or stressed as other parents with whom he came in contact under similar circumstances.

 

[DisturbedConcerned]

I caught that and he also made very direct comparisons to how he was certain he would react. Me personally? I try to stay calm during panic situations and attempt keeping others calm as well.

I will say Ian's demeanor during the press performance made the day before or the day of, but before Maddox's body was found, struck me as odd. Blank, but, seemed unnervous and almost as if he were meant to make such press releases and engage the press corps.

Very confident and very professional and not what you would expect from his manner of dress, or the fact his child had been missing for 5 days plus.

Very odd.

Has anyone gotten a good look at the ink on his left inner forearm? Just curious.

About 5 minutes in and not beyond 5 minutes 10 seconds was the only easily detectable deviation from his affect during that press conference that I spotted and wish the camera had had been positioned to capture a full face view instead of from the side.

I imagine other cameras were located off to his right that captured full face.

I cannot fault the park ranger for speaking out, either. As you indicated, he was the first person to encounter the father who was unable to locate his son. During his tenure at Rankin Lake Park, perhaps the park ranger has encountered other parents whose children have been missing, albeit temporarily, in the park. In that case, based on his personal experience, Maddox's father and/or girlfriend were not as panicked or stressed as other parents with whom he came in contact under similar circumstances.

 

[SuperTmo]

Thank you! I have utter disdain for this guy, tell the police yes, but to tell the media was utterly heartless imo. Not much of a conscious as to how putting that out into the world would effect the father and actually, for me, the fact that he's the kind of person who could do that, makes me take his opinion with a pinch of salt.

That’s kind of a harsh thing to say given we don’t know many of the actual facts of this case. We don’t know what the dad and girlfriend were doing. The dad didn’t call 911, the friend didn’t call 911. This guy did. For all we know this guy was sitting by the entrance to the park while on duty that day. We don’t know for 100% certainty that Maddox was there that day. No other witnesses have said so either. The cops have not said why they think he was there, so we don’t know for sure. Maybe the cops said that to get the dad’s guard down.

 

[SuperTmo]

Hey All I am new Here.. Just Curious if anyone else noticed him saying this in his interview? Father Said He Worried when he "Got Back"

Yes. This lends credence to my theory that the dad and girlfriend left Maddox unattended while they disappeared for a few minutes of alone time. I just can’t see any other way he would have gotten away in that park if he was being chased.

I think the guy on the bench who dad said saw and talked to Maddox saw Maddox wandering and asked where his parents were, but if Maddox was running full speed like dad claims, there wouldn’t have been enough time. And why would dad stop running long enough to talk to him.

 

[Gardener1850]

That’s kind of a harsh thing to say given we don’t know many of the actual facts of this case. We don’t know what the dad and girlfriend were doing. The dad didn’t call 911, the friend didn’t call 911. This guy did. For all we know this guy was sitting by the entrance to the park while on duty that day. We don’t know for 100% certainty that Maddox was there that day. No other witnesses have said so either. The cops have not said why they think he was there, so we don’t know for sure. Maybe the cops said that to get the dad’s guard down.

BBM. This is not true. Others saw him there:

GASTONIA, NC (WBTV) - Brooke Sheppard returned to Rankin Lake Park Friday, after a week of praying and helping investigators search for Maddox Ritch.

Sheppard is one of the people who says she saw Maddox in the park the day he went missing.

She was there for a church picnic and remembers going for a walk around Rankin Lake with her mom and daughter.

It was on that walk, Brooke says, they ran into little Maddox. She says he came up behind them on the path around the lake, and her mom tried to talk to him.

“I can remember her looking over and asking him ‘hey buddy are you tired?’ because he had just been skipping, jogging, being a kid,” Sheppard said.

Sheppard said he didn’t say anything back, and they kept an eye on him as he ran toward the park office.

They figured he was on his way back to his parents, or whoever he came with, but later that day, when they heard people were looking for a little boy with blonde hair and an orange shirt, she just knew.

Woman remembers day she saw Maddox Ritch at park

 

[SuperTmo]

A statement was given by a disinterested person who was at the park to the affect that, Madddox had run upon them and "his mother" caught up with him speaking to him. Maddox did not speak to "his mother" and I don't recall if they stated he ran off or went with "his mother".

Is there a link to this person’s statement? I haven’t seen it and would like to read / listen to it. Thanks!

ETA assuming you meant the church picnic people, someone posted it, so disregard!. The details about it are not quite the same though so if you have a different witness statement about Maddox and “his mom” i’d be interested in seeing that still