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

[DisturbedConcerned]

to the left of the "like", "+ quote" and "Reply" hinckies ) my colon is dead on my keyboard so I can't make a smiley face

Thanks for this info. I checked before posting, but I obviously missed it.
BTW I'm new on the forum and can't seem to locate the number of the posts...where are they?

 

[Snalldog2]

I always try to be as unbiased as possible (I don't think anyone can be 100% unbiased). It seems some people wanted to crucify the father based upon feelings instead of evidence.

This is tragic enough, attention should be on remembering Maddox at this point. Wait for the evidence to start rolling in.

Raising children is difficult enough, raising special needs children is even harder.

Everyone, make sure you hug those around you and let them know you love them. Life is short.

I only questioned two details...why the delay in the 911 call which was made by the park employee and not the father. Even if he, nor his girlfriend, had phones, surely there were other people in the park with phones. Seems it was reported that there was a time lapse of 40 minutes plus, after Maddox ran off, before the call was made by the employee. Correct my info if needed. Why didn't the girlfriend run if the dad could not due to health issues. Not a judgement call, but just trying to rationalize all the info we have received.

 

[Lillymac]

to the left of the "like", "+ quote" and "Reply" hinckies ) my colon is dead on my keyboard so I can't make a smiley face

I have no post numbers, but that's okay, I'll keep looking. Thank you.

 

[Snalldog2]

Where was he last seen and going in which direction?

The creek flows along the north bank of the reservoir and it flows west to east.

If the child got into the creek at the north end of the lake, and say he drowned, he could have easily been swept downstream to where he was found and if they had rain like more everyone else has in the southeast for the last several days, it seems logical brush and limbs would have been swept downstream with his body.

It has been reported that there are screens in place making it unlikely that Maddox was swept away from the lake and ended up in the creek.

 

[dixiegirl1035]

Thanks for this info. I checked before posting, but I obviously missed it.
BTW I'm new on the forum and can't seem to locate the number of the posts...where are they?

If you are on a phone, you can only see the post number in the landscape view mode by turning your phone sideways. It does not show up in the potrait view mode when you are going through the threads. Hope that helps.

 

[Alethea]

It has been reported that there are screens in place making it unlikely that Maddox was swept away from the lake and needed up in the creek.

The FBI said this at the press conference announcing that he was found so I took it as fact.

 

[SuperTmo]

This thread is turning into sleuthing how much of a fit parent the father is and not how did Maddox die or, if murdered, who killed him? Which is the topic we are supposed to be discussing. No parent is perfect, NONE, we all make mistakes when parenting, every single one of use, even if some people would never admit it. The fact is, the father lost sight of Maddox, the bit we need to know if how did Maddox die. The police say they have proof that Maddox was at the park, so theories regarding Maddox never having been at the park don't fit.

Pretty sure nobody is saying he wasn’t in the park. Nobody is saying he didn’t lose sight of him, it’s what led up to that moment that doesn’t make sense. Doesn’t fit with what anyone else has said. It doesn’t even fit with what the dad said in the screen shot of the video posted a page or two ago “when I got back.”

 

[Lillymac]

I have no post numbers, but that's okay, I'll keep looking. Thank you.

to the left of the "like", "+ quote" and "Reply" hinckies ) my colon is dead on my keyboard so I can't make a smiley face

I flipped my phone to landscape and the post numbers are there. Thanks...

 

[Starkville]

I think they were still looking and thinking he would be found soon. Also the park ranger really didn't know how long it had been. IIRC, at first he said it had been 30 minutes then 40 minutes, then an hour. And IMO had Maddox's dad called 911 right away people would criticize him for calling too soon as well. They would say it's suspicious. He cannot win no matter when 911 was called. JMO.

But let’s remember that Maddox (may he RIP) had autism and was nonverbal. Who would criticize a parent calling for help for a child with those special needs, even if he were missing for three minutes?!

I guess the same sort of person who’d criticize a park employee calling 911 because the parent didn’t...

 

[SuperTmo]

See post #641 posed to a local first responder that shared some facts.

The image included indicates where and the direction I was able to discern he was running right before he went missing based on Ian's statements describing what happened to the press. If I am correct, Brooke and her mother had their "run in" with Maddox before his lightning bolt run away from the guardians.

But I mean at that point wasn’t the dad already chasing him? They said he was walking and jogging right? (Going by memory here). If he was walking how come dad didn’t catch up? Or yell at them to grab his hand or something!

 

[Gardener1850]

Respectfully snipped for focus.
We don't have enough jails for all the neglectful parents. True that in most cases the children don't die, but then again, there are probably more "accidents" that are really the result of neglect than than we know.

In this case, we can speculate on the level of supervision the child was receiving, but we just don't know for sure. What we do know is that a man now has the rest of his life to reflect on that day, and what he could have done to prevent the tragic outcome. That punishment is worse than any judgement we could ever impose upon him. Little Maddox no longer has earthly concerns; I believe it is his father that needs the prayers most at this point. I truly hope that he will find a way to make something good of this horribly tragic event.

Amateur opinion and speculation

I agree. Personally, I'll not criticize the dad unless he is arrested. His own feelings of guilt are probably bad enough. He stated that he is a "broken man" over this and I believe that to be sincere at this time. The family needs prayer and comfort not shaming over their parenting skills. JMO.

 

[SuperTmo]

But let’s remember that Maddox (may he RIP) had autism and was nonverbal. Who would criticize a parent calling for help for a child with those special needs, even if he were missing for three minutes?!

I guess the same sort of person who’d criticize a park employee calling 911 because the parent didn’t...

Literally nobody. Nobody would criticize a parent for ever trusting their gut and calling the police if they thought their child was missing. Nobody here at least. We all know every minute counts in a missing child case, autism or not.

 

[SuperTmo]

If you are on a phone, you can only see the post number in the landscape view mode by turning your phone sideways. It does not show up in the potrait view mode when you are going through the threads. Hope that helps.

Whoa! I didn’t know that. I just assumed you guys could all see something I wasn’t finding!!

 

[Natusry]

For everyone saying the dad should have been screaming his lungs out or questioning why 911 wasn’t called earlier. Honestly, I would have reacted the same way if my non-verbal autistic daughter was out of sight. Screaming her name would cause her to run further because she would think she’s in trouble. Alerting more people or loud sirens would have certainly caused her to retreat further away.
On the other hand, I wouldn’t have waited an hour. I would have asked someone to call 911 probably 10 minutes in to it. And, I would never, ever allow myself to be distracted when she’s around water because of the likelihood of drowning/her fascination. But that doesn’t mean I’m not human and would NEVER be distracted despite my best efforts not to be.
I believe this was a terrible accident and the father was distracted for longer than he admits. He will live with that guilt for the rest of his life.

 

[SuperTmo]

I agree. Personally, I'll not criticize the dad unless he is arrested. His own feelings of guilt are probably bad enough. He stated that he is a "broken man" over this and I believe that to be sincere at this time. The family needs prayer and comfort not shaming over their parenting skills. JMO.

Oh I agree fully, there is no doubt that this has destroyed him. But that doesn’t mean he was doing everything he should for Maddox. IMO.

Hypothetically, if a parent (and I’m not saying this happened in this case, so don’t freak out) left a child unattended and the child came into a dangerous situation, should the parent be held responsible? I’m
not talking about leaving them unsupervised while you take a shower or cook dinner or run to the bathroom. Those things cannot be avoided.

I mean like left them alone in the park while you ran back to the car to grab something or were spending some alone time with your partner, or we hear of kids having harm come to them while the parent is getting drunk or high. The parent didn’t physically harm the child themselves but their choices allowed the chance for it to happen. But do you think there should be a legal consequence for these sorts of things?

Again, I’m not accusing the dad of any of these things, but hypothetically. Do you think the parent / caregiver (daycare, babysitter, etc) has to physically kill a child themselves to be responsible for the death?

 

[Limecat]

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.

THIS!!!! This is what has been nagging at the back of my brain and just wouldn’t come to light.

I’m not saying anything else. I’m sort of hanging off the fence at this time. I guess I just don’t see all the pieces making sense. And why would bench man ask ‘where are your parents?’ If there were TWO adults running and yelling for him after him? And why couldn’t the supposedly-non-physically-impaired GF catch up to him?

I’m of the notion Dad and new GF just got distracted being together and he was gone before they realized.

I’m not leaning toward Dad doing anything nefarious really, but something is not being told or said. And if Maddox could’ve been gone up to a few minutes then anything’s possible. Including horrible tragic accident and ‘other’.

RIP little guy.

 

[SuperTmo]

THIS!!!! This is what has been nagging at the back of my brain and just wouldn’t come to light.

I’m not saying anything else. I’m sort of hanging off the fence at this time. I guess I just don’t see all the pieces making sense. And why would bench man ask ‘where are your parents?’ If there were TWO adults running and yelling for him after him? And why couldn’t the supposedly-non-physically-impaired GF catch up to him?

I’m of the notion Dad and new GF just got distracted being together and he was gone before they realized.

I’m not leaning toward Dad doing anything nefarious really, but something is not being told or said. And if Maddox could’ve been gone up to a few minutes then anything’s possible. Including horrible tragic accident and ‘other’.

RIP little guy.

I agree. He had a decent head start which means they really had no idea where he could have gone. If there was a spot on the trail where they realized they couldn’t see him anymore, it would make the most sense to search there, not on the rest of the trail that was visible. It’s very sad.

 

[x_files]

If the park ranger hadn't called 911, would Maddox's dad or the girlfriend have called police? Why did the park ranger call for help instead of Mr. Ritch? I'm still confused about the lack of urgency to locate the missing child

That's what bothers me.

 

[chi123]

This incident has affected everybody, from us local Gaston County residents, to everybody in the nation. But I think it's important to note that A) his father has passed several polygraph tests, and B) His parents are still to be considered victims! It is well-known & documented that Autistic children 99% of the time always gravitate toward the water! I have found a couple of them this way myself during autistic child searches I've been apart of... Part of this is because they exhibit a fearlessness about them associated with their deficit. He was found in the creek in a couple feet depth of water. Not to mention, the FBI among other Law Enforcement agencies are investigating this. There is nothing right now, at this point, that points toward the father (or any other family members for that matter) being a suspect or suspected to be involved in something maleficent. In conclusion, please remember their child that was found dead in a creek & his parents are visibly devastated! We need to consider that before some of us go around pointing fingers at them on social media for the world to see when there's nothing to substantiate any wrongdoing on their part!

Has the FBI actually confirmed he passed the 2 polygraphs? They've refused comment on that all week which is quite odd

 

[x_files]

This is an answer to Gardner1850 post:
The child ran out of his sight. Perhaps he could not see him on the trail when he went in the woods. Obviously you have never been to this park since you haven't answered that question. Would you say the things you are saying to Maddox's grieving parents if you met them? Would you ask them if they really were not telling the truth despite the FBI saying their account seems accurate and the father saying he passed a polygraph? Do you want the dad to be charged with neglect?

IMO, yeppers!! People haven't come forward saying they heard dad yelling for Maddox . He says he went one way, his GF went "the other". I can only "assume" they were yelling and frantically asking people about Maddox, no? DAD said he took TWO lie detector tests and passed them. When do people get told they "passed" the test?
Again. Dad's not giving the whole story, IMO. He neglected his son by not paying attention to his autistic/non verbal son who, supposedly, is having his first trip to this particular park.

<modsnipped unfounded speculation; not victim friendly>
Always IMO.

ETA: The quote thing isn't working for me. Sorry.

I must be a helicopter parent. I never let me daughter run ahead of me in a park esp. near water.
Just too scared a predator would snatch her.

So, LE/FBI claims he was seen at the park with dad after all? Wouldn't the office area have security cams?