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

[LietKynes]

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

Snipped for brevity

So it's official ? Ian passed several (as in; more than two) polygraph tests ?
As far as we know.. this information came from Ian himself and no one else.
Do you have a media or news link ?

Law enforcement have stated this investigation is still open. They have not said this was only an accident.

They're being very tight-lipped about this.
Which should concern anyone; especially responsible parents.

 

[SuperTmo]

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

Not that I’m aware of. We just have his word. Wonder why they made him do a second one though?

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?

No, it’s not just you. We never did that when our daughter was small. No way! She is 10 and almost 5 feet tall and still isn’t allowed to wander away alone. I can’t run because I’ve had too many reconstructions on my leg because of bone tumors, so I just never allowed her to run ahead like that. I wouldn’t be able to get to her in time to save her from anything.

 

[dfanady]

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

I wondered this as well, and was about to ask if someone could point to the interview or article where LE stated the results.

I assumed that they were keeping them quiet as a strategy, and not because he failed either of the tests. LE also said that they believe the father's account to be accurate.

 

[LietKynes]

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.

BBM

Good post !
Was going to comment but you said it best.

On the fence about possible foul play by someone.... because LE have NOT said this was an accident.
Instead, they've stated that this is an open investigation ; and they're STILL asking people at the park to come forward !
Amazing.

If there were sec. cameras in the park... wouldn't LE know what happened and thus there would be no need to ask people to come forward ?
Either the sec. cams show something other than what the dad has said, ... or maybe there are no cameras at all.

Until they do... who knows what happened ?
And why is the dad being so protective of the GF ?
What were they actually doing ?

The fact that a park employee had to call 911 an hour after this boy supposedly went missing is concerning.

 

[LietKynes]

Not that I’m aware of. We just have his word. Wonder why they made him do a second one though?




No, it’s not just you. We never did that when our daughter was small. No way! She is 10 and almost 5 feet tall and still isn’t allowed to wander away alone. I can’t run because I’ve had too many reconstructions on my leg because of bone tumors, so I just never allowed her to run ahead like that. I wouldn’t be able to get to her in time to save her from anything.

BBM

First bolded bit : Hmmm... True-- we have only his word that he took two polygraphs.
A previous poster said several polys ; but as far as I could find here by scrolling back --- Ian says he took two.

Second bolded bit : You are a wise parent.
According to the dad, he took other trips to different parks with Maddox --knowing full well he couldn't catch him if the little boy decided to run.

The only reason we're troubled here at WS about this is because of Ian's own statements.
Not LE. Not the lady who said she saw them.

 

[justtrish]

I wonder how much the dad actually had his son or how often he took him out? Is it possible he just didn't have the concern because he wasn't with him a lot out in public? I know as the mom I was with my kids a lot more when they were little so I had different instincts or reactions when things happened because I knew how they reacted daily in those same situations. I was always worried around water or when I couldn't see them. My husband is much more calm and not because he doesn't care just as much, but I think I just worried way more about every what if that could happen. In the case of a child with special needs, I think this is even more possible that the mom maybe has primary physical custody (I don't know for sure just assuming) and if dad only has him part of the time maybe he just wasn't as aware or prepared for him running off or the fact he may not come right back to stay close? It could explain why maybe he wasn't super alarmed right away. I try to find the reasons why in cases like this because I do think often we all do things that aren't the best, but we never think anything bad will happen to our kids nor have that intention when doing what we do. It's unfortunate in this case that whatever was going on did lead to this little boy's death and that dad has to live with that.

 

[LietKynes]

That's what bothers me.

That ^^^^

 

[Hippononymous]

I only questioned two details...why the delay in the 911 call which was made by the park employee and not the father.

I don't know...I can see just thinking you're going to find him, where could he go, and then just not realizing how much time had passed or even recognizing that you need help. As for him not making the call himself, I can see that if he was too worked up. My daughter disappeared once and I honestly can't remember who called the police. It might have been me, or my husband, or our neighbor who was helping to find her. I'm guessing it wasn't me because I was freaking out too much.

 

[Snalldog2]

Snipped for brevity

So it's official ? Ian passed several (as in; more than two) polygraph tests ?
As far as we know.. this information came from Ian himself and no one else.
Do you have a media or news link ?

Law enforcement have stated this investigation is still open. They have not said this was only an accident.

They're being very tight-lipped about this.
Which should concern anyone; especially responsible parents.

 

[SuzDuJour]

It seems odd to me that Maddox would walk/run along side a creek for over a mile before attempting to get in the water. I await the autopsy report, and also reports of where he actually entered the creek.

 

[SassynOz]

None of this situation sounds fishy or hard to understand the hows, when why. However I’m also the mother of a child with nonverbal autism. Non verbal means she can’t communicate with words but she certainly communicates. Also Being non verbal doesn’t mean you can’t hear and understand everything being said. My child is no more of a “burden” then my other 3 children have been at different stages of life. With all that being said. I honestly could not catch my daughter if she took off running. I’d never call out to her either that would just thrill her ( when she was tbat age) and she would go faster and farther. I wouldn’t even want her to know I was chasing after her if possible same reasons. I also can not catch my grandson when he takes off either. He’s 3 and nt. Kids run faster then people realize.

My daughter at age 6 was on the school playground with 4 adults and 6 kids. She was swinging. 3 minutes later the adults started walking the kids inside doing the normal head count they realized they only had 5 kids not 6. Mine was gone , the area around the playground is open nothing obstructing view. They knew she was JUST there they saw her swinging and mostly heard her. There’s also fencing around the playground they couldn’t visably see her outside. With so little time passing since they saw her the assumption was she went inside the school when a older group did that had been returning from a walking field trip just a minute prior. So they didn’t panic but notified the teacher who started a search inside the school. They locked the school down and over the intercom they asked all teachers to search their rooms. Nothing she seemed to of vanished. However a older child when hearing this on the intercoms told her teacher that she had saw a little girl about 15 mins prior running by the big ditch and main road that is near the school . It’s however the length of a football field and a gate to get around from where my daughter was last seen. But they reported it and after talking with the child a min my Daughters teacher knew it WAS my kid she had seen. She matched her clothing , size , pig tails etc. So then they panicked and realized she wasn’t safe somewhere in the school but was outside. The teacher just started running towards that area not finding her. So much time had passed. However while running by the busy street she thought she heard my kid being her typically normal loud self. She was running to the little walkway that allows you to get past the big ditch to the busy street as she was doing that she happened to glance down into the ditch which is 8 to 12 feet deep depending on what side your on.

She then saw my daughters pigtails right above the water line of this ditch. It had 4 ft of standing water in it. My kid was almost to her chin in the water which was filled with the unimaginables of slime and yuck. But She was splashing like it was nothing. The teacher had a hard time finding a place to crawl down into it she finally just jumped down reaches her and had help lifting her out . There was so much wrong with the story. I should of been called first. They should of looked outside always look outside and in bodies of water FIRST. Never underestimate how fast they can get away so fast no one out side noticed her. They couldn’t figure out how she got around the fencing until a few days later when they were outside again and watched my daughter she would look to see if they were looking , her eyes would glance at a certain area of the fence and she kept repeating this. She was waiting for the moment no one was paying attention then she already had her plan. That’s how my kid worked , anyone they started looking in the area they saw my daughter looking found there was a small gap in the fencing that they couldn’t see unless right upon it. The district had a brand new fence put around just the playground up closer.

Several new rules some at my insistence were put in place after that day also. My kid knew somehow there was water down there and who knows how long she’d been planning this.

I knew it could happen. It had happened under my watch but not to this extent because I was aware that she can be stubborn and pokey one minute and then run a Marathon in the spur of the moment. But no one really “got it” until well it happened and they did. Maddox could of easily been my kid back when she was 6. I could of or my husband or our entire family could be in the shoes of that dad. I’ve lived the life I’m somewhat of a helicopter parent house is locked like Fort Knox yet my child did escape all my safety guards at home. She got out of the house was gone she out smarted the locks and chains and was gone. If she could get out of the house and get lost at school. You better believe a park or any public place was more subsebtable . She could be gone so quick like lightening that no one would of even noticed her. We didn’t go out often but with 3 other kids we couldn’t all stay locked up in a house either. I thought it could never happen to me. Fact is it DID , it can happen to any of us . You just don’t even realize it until your in the situation.

 

[Steve_Stockton]

Snipped for brevity

So it's official ? Ian passed several (as in; more than two) polygraph tests ?
As far as we know.. this information came from Ian himself and no one else.
Do you have a media or news link ?

Law enforcement have stated this investigation is still open. They have not said this was only an accident.

They're being very tight-lipped about this.
Which should concern anyone; especially responsible parents.

Well, I think the answer is in the semantics... Technically, you can "pass" a polygraph test, but the test results can still be considered "inconclusive" by the polygraph examiner and/or LE... Not really a "pass", but since it was not an outright "fail", the individual may may claim a "pass" even if it truly wasn't. Since the test measures physical/physiological responses such as heart rate, blood pressure, sweating & breathing, an individual that's extremely nervous can skew the test, even when being truthful. Hopefully though, the examiner would realize this and account for it, although there have been instances where the examiner has been faulted with causing someone to illegitimately pass or fail the test. Although LE often requests additional polygraphs be given, I am curious about the time frame between the two/more tests in this case.

 

[steeltowngirl]

That's what bothers me.

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

This has bothered me also. I don’t have a link but I saw somewhere that the park employee hopped on a golf cart and went looking for Maddox. Did he do that before or after calling 911? Listening to the 911 call, he didn’t know how long Maddox had been lost or the child’s name. I find that troubling, given he went on to an interview stating his opinions, which added to online speculation. It just didn’t feel professional.

IMO, I think the dad got distracted, but was it negligence? We may never know the answer, but he and their family will live with the pain of the consequences for the rest of their lives. I just don’t see how parent-shaming helps the situation.

On a side note - A couple of years ago, a young boy was killed by a pack of dogs at our local zoo when he fell into the exhibit. The zoo website allowed comments to be posted from the public, and the mom was vilified. It was already a horrific and sad situation, but worsened by the public feeding into the trauma. The zoo could have shut down the comments on the site that day, but they did not, and ultimately the zoo was found to have some responsibility for the tragedy due to poor fencing. The online persecution of a parent who made a mistake haunted me then, and now. I vowed that day to never step foot in that zoo again, for allowing a forum of public parent-shaming in the wake of a tragedy.

 

[they'll get you]

None of this situation sounds fishy or hard to understand the hows, when why. However I’m also the mother of a child with nonverbal autism. Non verbal means she can’t communicate with words but she certainly communicates. Also Being non verbal doesn’t mean you can’t hear and understand everything being said. My child is no more of a “burden” then my other 3 children have been at different stages of life. With all that being said. I honestly could not catch my daughter if she took off running. I’d never call out to her either that would just thrill her ( when she was tbat age) and she would go faster and farther. I wouldn’t even want her to know I was chasing after her if possible same reasons. I also can not catch my grandson when he takes off either. He’s 3 and nt. Kids run faster then people realize.

My daughter at age 6 was on the school playground with 4 adults and 6 kids. She was swinging. 3 minutes later the adults started walking the kids inside doing the normal head count they realized they only had 5 kids not 6. Mine was gone , the area around the playground is open nothing obstructing view. They knew she was JUST there they saw her swinging and mostly heard her. There’s also fencing around the playground they couldn’t visably see her outside. With so little time passing since they saw her the assumption was she went inside the school when a older group did that had been returning from a walking field trip just a minute prior. So they didn’t panic but notified the teacher who started a search inside the school. They locked the school down and over the intercom they asked all teachers to search their rooms. Nothing she seemed to of vanished. However a older child when hearing this on the intercoms told her teacher that she had saw a little girl about 15 mins prior running by the big ditch and main road that is near the school . It’s however the length of a football field and a gate to get around from where my daughter was last seen. But they reported it and after talking with the child a min my Daughters teacher knew it WAS my kid she had seen. She matched her clothing , size , pig tails etc. So then they panicked and realized she wasn’t safe somewhere in the school but was outside. The teacher just started running towards that area not finding her. So much time had passed. However while running by the busy street she thought she heard my kid being her typically normal loud self. She was running to the little walkway that allows you to get past the big ditch to the busy street as she was doing that she happened to glance down into the ditch which is 8 to 12 feet deep depending on what side your on.

She then saw my daughters pigtails right above the water line of this ditch. It had 4 ft of standing water in it. My kid was almost to her chin in the water which was filled with the unimaginables of slime and yuck. But She was splashing like it was nothing. The teacher had a hard time finding a place to crawl down into it she finally just jumped down reaches her and had help lifting her out . There was so much wrong with the story. I should of been called first. They should of looked outside always look outside and in bodies of water FIRST. Never underestimate how fast they can get away so fast no one out side noticed her. They couldn’t figure out how she got around the fencing until a few days later when they were outside again and watched my daughter she would look to see if they were looking , her eyes would glance at a certain area of the fence and she kept repeating this. She was waiting for the moment no one was paying attention then she already had her plan. That’s how my kid worked , anyone they started looking in the area they saw my daughter looking found there was a small gap in the fencing that they couldn’t see unless right upon it. The district had a brand new fence put around just the playground up closer.

Several new rules some at my insistence were put in place after that day also. My kid knew somehow there was water down there and who knows how long she’d been planning this.

I knew it could happen. It had happened under my watch but not to this extent because I was aware that she can be stubborn and pokey one minute and then run a Marathon in the spur of the moment. But no one really “got it” until well it happened and they did. Maddox could of easily been my kid back when she was 6. I could of or my husband or our entire family could be in the shoes of that dad. I’ve lived the life I’m somewhat of a helicopter parent house is locked like Fort Knox yet my child did escape all my safety guards at home. She got out of the house was gone she out smarted the locks and chains and was gone. If she could get out of the house and get lost at school. You better believe a park or any public place was more subsebtable . She could be gone so quick like lightening that no one would of even noticed her. We didn’t go out often but with 3 other kids we couldn’t all stay locked up in a house either. I thought it could never happen to me. Fact is it DID , it can happen to any of us . You just don’t even realize it until your in the situation.

Brilliant post!

Watching from Australia.

 

[floridamomma]

Maddox Ritch's Dad Speaks Out After 6-Year-Old Is Found Dead: 'Please Don’t Make My Mistake'

 

[LietKynes]

Well, I think the answer is in the semantics... Technically, you can "pass" a polygraph test, but the test results can still be considered "inconclusive" by the polygraph examiner and/or LE... Not really a "pass", but since it was not an outright "fail", the individual may may claim a "pass" even if it truly wasn't. Since the test measures physical/physiological responses such as heart rate, blood pressure, sweating & breathing, an individual that's extremely nervous can skew the test, even when being truthful. Hopefully though, the examiner would realize this and account for it, although there have been instances where the examiner has been faulted with causing someone to illegitimately pass or fail the test. Although LE often requests additional polygraphs be given, I am curious about the time frame between the two/more tests in this case.

BBM

Agreed, re. the bolded bit.

Btw ; Welcome to WS forums, Steve_Stockton !

Although it's curious that he took one at all. This was an accident-- so why would anyone need to take a polygraph ?
Law enforcement have never said he actually took one.

 

[Charlot123]

Well, I think the answer is in the semantics... Technically, you can "pass" a polygraph test, but the test results can still be considered "inconclusive" by the polygraph examiner and/or LE... Not really a "pass", but since it was not an outright "fail", the individual may may claim a "pass" even if it truly wasn't. Since the test measures physical/physiological responses such as heart rate, blood pressure, sweating & breathing, an individual that's extremely nervous can skew the test, even when being truthful. Hopefully though, the examiner would realize this and account for it, although there have been instances where the examiner has been faulted with causing someone to illegitimately pass or fail the test. Although LE often requests additional polygraphs be given, I am curious about the time frame between the two/more tests in this case.

From what I understand, the willingness to take the test is already a good sign. That dad was eager to take the test, twice.

Now, when the test is "inconclusive", it does not mean that the person is lying. I am not a specialist in polygraph tests, merely read about them, but I know that benzodiazepines can skew the results. Yet if a person is on prescribed benzodiazepines daily, be it for anxiety or any other condition, no officer administering the test will tell him, "stop them for the test". I assume the person taking the test is instructed to take "his usual medications".

Again - no factual knowledge, but I can imagine that beta-blockers can make the results inconclusive. Yet no one, ever, would recommend to stop them if a person is taking them on a regular basis, especially if it is for high blood pressure.

This dad had diabetic neuropathy. If it was established diagnosis, and he was treated, then "Gabapentin" is the first drug that comes to mind. It could probably make the results "inconclusive" as well.

My point is - "inconclusive" does not mean, "he did not pass, he was lying". Inconclusive might mean "lack of predicted response because the person is taking the medications that might interfere with the results of the test, and has been taking them on a regular basis".

 

[Charlot123]

I can pull probably 5 similar cases, of autistic kids wandering away and drowning, over the last several years. Here is one more

https://nypost.com/2018/03/13/schoo...e-over-autistic-boy-who-wandered-off-drowned/

This kid was, actually, verbal and yet he wandered away and drowned.


And here is the article summing it up - yes, autistic kids are at a much higher risk for drowning, and not only drowning.

Why Kids With Autism Are More Likely To Drown

"The results are pretty bleak. Overall, individuals with autism died on average almost 36 years younger than the general population. Almost 28 per cent died prematurely by injury, which includes complications from epileptic seizures and suicide (both epilepsy and depression are common in this population)."

Honestly - I think it was not anyone's foul play, but certain negligence on behalf of the dad (not criminal, but too understandable if he was with a new girlfriend) and also, statistics that was not in favor of Maddox. Dad's mistake, but I feel sorry for the dad.

That kids with disabilities are loved often even more than the ones who have no issues growing up is well-known. The fact that these kids might be hyperactive, and parents are easily overwhelmed, and tired, and may themselves have similar issues (making them sensory overloaded and even more tired) is not stigmatizing either the kids or the parents. It is just sad reality. I think a lot has been done to support parents of children with autism, but it is still very, very hard.

RIP, Maddox.

 

[gremlingrrl]

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

Same! Mystery finally solved.

 

[SuperTmo]

I can pull probably 5 similar cases, of autistic kids wandering away and drowning, over the last several years. Here is one more

https://nypost.com/2018/03/13/schoo...e-over-autistic-boy-who-wandered-off-drowned/

This kid was, actually, verbal and yet he wandered away and drowned.

Right. It’s not exactly uncommon, and is well known that this is a huge risk. That is why it’s weird that this dad apparently let his son run loose (around water!!), in an unfamiliar park, knowing he was physically unable to keep up. All the other times he did this, he got lucky.