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

[SuperTmo]

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.

The fishy part isn’t that the boy likely drowned in the creek. The fishy part is that he let his little boy with autism run so far ahead of him on a regular basis, knowing he wouldn’t be able to catch up.

 

[Charlot123]

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.

I guess, own issues, new girlfriend, and maybe, inability to keep focus on several things at the same time?

 

[floridamomma]

I'm shocked by FB posts. My gosh. Speechless.

 

[they'll get you]

The fishy part isn’t that the boy likely drowned in the creek. The fishy part is that he let his little boy with autism run so far ahead of him on a regular basis, knowing he wouldn’t be able to catch up.

Little legs can run faster than you realise.
We lived on a hill with a main road close by, when I had to hang clothes on the line I had to teather my boy to the clothes line because he’d take off. Maybe it’s unacceptable but that’s what I had to do to keep him safe and close to me. Also when shopping I had to have him harnessed.


Love from Australia.

 

[LietKynes]

Little legs can run faster than you realise.
We lived on a hill with a main road close by, when I had to hang clothes on the line I had to teather my boy to the clothes line because he’d take off. Maybe it’s unacceptable but that’s what I had to do to keep him safe and close to me. Also when shopping I had to have him harnessed.
View attachment 149130

Love from Australia.

Very wise of you...you sound like a responsible parent.
We used a harness for our second child.
It wasn't that we couldn't keep up with him if he wanted to stretch his legs... but it helped --- mostly at crowded areas like shopping centers.
You need to have a plan if you know your child likes to run around.

 

[they'll get you]

Very wise of you...you sound like a responsible parent.
We used a harness for our second child.
It wasn't that we couldn't keep up with him if he wanted to stretch his legs... but it helped --- mostly at crowded areas like shopping centers.
You need to have a plan if you know your child likes to run around.

I had odd looks as well but his safety was paramount. My daughter didn’t run but, given any chance my son would break loose of my hand & would run straight into the traffic.
In a park environment I would’ve had him on a long retractable dog lead. He was a horror!

 

[they'll get you]

<modsnip: quoted post was removed>

The autopsy will reveal how the injuries occurred.

 

[carole]

Error

 

[yrmfp]

Oh nooo!
The autopsy will reveal how the injuries occurred.

There was footage of the live videos when he was found. A news anchor had his camera on fb live and the reactions of the men finding him looked like they were shocked/ terrified by what they saw. I remember telling my husband I thought that reaction stood out because they were trained and prepared to find his body.
( not to take away from having to be the person to discover a childs body; the reactions just made me concerned.

 

[Charlot123]

I'm shocked by FB posts. My gosh. Speechless.

So am I. Two considerations. People are quick to judge. Some have never ever been parents, much less parents to an autistic nonverbal child. And second.

All eyes are on this father. But there is the mother, for whom Maddox was her whole life. I just hope she gets enough emotional support, and will continue to get it. It is a horrible tragedy.

My condolences to both.

 

[LietKynes]

could the injuries have happened from Maddox falling into the creek and being washed around by the water flowing ? sorry-- WS is acting up for me.....

 

[tnith]

Did not see this posted, says a bit about the lengths which officials went to locate Maddox. Am somewhat unclear what can and what cannot be said about interviews with those other that child's father, despite clear signals in them.

"A local registered sex offender told Fox 46 late Thursday afternoon that it was his tip that led the search crews to the boy's body.
'Probation and the US Marshals came over to the house and was checking around. I gave them a tip, I asked if they had looked down in the holes and the pipe,' said Harold Early.
Early is listed as a registered sex offender in Gaston County.
The entry on the registry was convicted in 2012 in connection to three separate incidents beginning in 1980. He is currently on probation.

Earlier, park employee Rick Foxx, who called 911 on Saturday to report Maddox missing and who initially helped with the search, said he does not believe the child was ever at the park."

MADDOX 911 CALL: 911 caller says father was 'out of breath' after son disappeared at Rankin Lake Park

 

[yrmfp]

could the injuries have happened from Maddox falling into the creek and being washed around by the water flowing ? sorry-- WS is acting up for me.....

Hes a tiny boy so anything is possible.
I'm praying that's all it was.

As for the comments about Rick, the park employee... I know him personally and i can tell you he is a wreck over this. His interview was pieced together to appear that all he did was trash dad. They asked him questions and posted parts of the answers.

He doesnt know what happened but the events that unfolded caught him off guard, the dad not wanting him to call 911 etc, the way things played out later.... Just think about how quickly the fbi came in and how this whole thing has appeared to be a recovery mission...This has all affected him as well and he was just working when pulled into this.
Perhaps the fbi are not looking for people to come forward to verify Maddox was at the park but to get an idea about them and what they saw there?

 

[IceIce9]

Did not see this posted, says a bit about the lengths which officials went to locate Maddox. Am somewhat unclear what can and what cannot be said about interviews with those other that child's father, despite clear signals in them.

"A local registered sex offender told Fox 46 late Thursday afternoon that it was his tip that led the search crews to the boy's body.
'Probation and the US Marshals came over to the house and was checking around. I gave them a tip, I asked if they had looked down in the holes and the pipe,' said Harold Early.
Early is listed as a registered sex offender in Gaston County.
The entry on the registry was convicted in 2012 in connection to three separate incidents beginning in 1980. He is currently on probation.

Earlier, park employee Rick Foxx, who called 911 on Saturday to report Maddox missing and who initially helped with the search, said he does not believe the child was ever at the park."

MADDOX 911 CALL: 911 caller says father was 'out of breath' after son disappeared at Rankin Lake Park

Wow, so the park employee made rounds with a golf cart BEFORE he called 911?

I am really surprised that the park’s protocol didn’t state that 911 should be called immediately when a lost child was reported.

 

[MistyM]

are there wild animals in the area? how awful for this poor baby! i hope he passed quickly and without fear or pain.

 

[Gardener1850]

I have not listened to this yet, but Nancy Grace covered the story in her podcast: Friday Crime Stories: 6-year-old Maddox Ritch’s body found, cops say investigation NOT OVER

 

[Miamama]

could the injuries have happened from Maddox falling into the creek and being washed around by the water flowing ? sorry-- WS is acting up for me.....

Or from animals postmortem?

 

[yrmfp]

are there wild animals in the area? how awful for this poor baby! i hope he passed quickly and without fear or pain.

Coyotes and rarely black bears but the odds of that seem...... I dont know. I just hope he slipped and quickly downed.....
LE still have something they are working on as things that day he went missing just were not right.. I am beginning to believe he was snatched in that parking lot the witnesses saw him in after he' ran from dad'( likely running free for some time)

 

[Quinquin]

Hes a tiny boy so anything is possible.
I'm praying that's all it was.

As for the comments about Rick, the park employee... I know him personally and i can tell you he is a wreck over this. His interview was pieced together to appear that all he did was trash dad. They asked him questions and posted parts of the answers.

He doesnt know what happened but the events that unfolded caught him off guard, the dad not wanting him to call 911 etc, the way things played out later.... Just think about how quickly the fbi came in and how this whole thing has appeared to be a recovery mission...This has all affected him as well and he was just working when pulled into this.
Perhaps the fbi are not looking for people to come forward to verify Maddox was at the park but to get an idea about them and what they saw there?

I am so glad that you posted this. I didn't know that the Dad did not want him to call 911. He said he took and passed 2 polygraph tests. I feel for that beautiful boy. This whole thing is excrutiatingly evil imo.

 

[mickey2942]

It brings up the touchy issue of, if you found a child's body, would you even want to report it? After what Kronk went through after finding CA, I have often wondered...hopefully the police did not question the guy who found Maddox.

Especially since the police are still investigating the incident...

 

[Miamama]

Coyotes and rarely black bears but the odds of that seem...... I dont know. I just hope he slipped and quickly downed.....
LE still have something they are working on as things that day he went missing just were not right.. I am beginning to believe he was snatched in that parking lot the witnesses saw him in after he' ran from dad'( likely running free for some time)

Snatched from the parking lot has been my feeling for awhile now. The only hang up is that with a heavily vegetated the area where he was found is made out to be, seems there would have been clear evidence of disturbance leading up to the creek.