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

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Ugh- that sounds like he was deliberately being hidden, or am I reading into this too much?

I think until there is evidence that says otherwise, you are reading too much into it.

I live on a creek and debris tends to collect along the bank inside of the brush. I would imagine a body would do something similar and then be covered by other debris.
 
I think until there is evidence that says otherwise, you are reading too much into it.

I live on a creek and debris tends to collect along the bank inside of the brush. I would imagine a body would do something similar and then be covered by other debris.
Good point. I’m not sure about the reading too much into it yet. I do agree about the creek flow.
 
Probably because the offenses were old ones that just came to light. He was released in early in 2013 so he just did get off probation.

The sleepover rape (she was 26 not 28) was alleged tor happened Oct 2010. He was also accused of sexually assaulting her in Aug 2011. He was arrested on all those garages and a concealed weapons charge for the stun gun...
 
I live locally and it is worth noting that it stormed really badly last night for the first time since Maddox went missing.
Thanks Ruby Blue. I know on some cases here a bad storm is a blessing in disguise as it will move things around just enough so a body can be found. Wish this case had a different outcome. So sad. Better to be found and recovered, if deceased, than to never know.
 
Is the creek he was by or in deep or would it have carried him down farther away from the park or does it flow to the park?

Deep enough for an adult to drown and directly accessible from the track flowing ~5' lower than the track's elevation. He was found in 2-3' of water in a "marshy spot" some distance downstream. The creek runs across the north end of the park and in the direction from the park he was found, meaning downstream.

I don't know how much rain they had in the last 6 days but, I imagine they had enough to have carried a drowned child downstream some distance. Looking at the topo maps and watershed, I'd say a heavy rain has been known to bring the creek level to the level of the reservoir, or higher.
 
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I think they said 2-3 feet deep. Looks like it flows away from the park via the lake. There are screens on the creek to keep things from floating from the lake into the creek. I'd really like to know where those screens are located....


Look at the north end of the lake at what may appear to you to be a bridge pointed north and slightly east, that is for runoff from the reservoir to divert water to the creek. The lake being screened from the creek isn't the least bit relevant since the creek is easily accessible and close to the track. As in, the child much more likely went into the creek and drowned since that is where he was found.
 
There have been heavy rains swept up from the hurricane down in the gulf that went across middle and east TN for many days now and it is just now slowing. Flooding reported in many areas.

A local said it “stormed badly” last night. This would mean there was possibly more water in the creek and more debris floating around. So, I would hold judgement until LE States this was a crime.
 
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Perhaps to be relevant you would like to make your challenge a bit more on point and specify 'a parent that failed to exercise proper supervision of a child that ended up tragically and senselessly drowning.'

Running into crowds of strangers dense enough for you lose sight, there had to be lots of strangers around, or significant distance it would seem.

Allowing your mute child, purportedly unable or unwilling to answer when you call to him or if somebody absconded with him, to get away from you in such close proximity to a not small body of water and a creek, and he loses you while you are actually trying to catch him from starting way too late, well you get the picture maybe.

Ask yourself what you would think if the child fell to foul play from a stranger. He either passed as a result of his own devices, which I do not accept, or those of another.

As a parent, you do have a responsibility to assure proper supervision of your child and protect him from harm.


The creek can be accessed by going straight to it and it hasn't been clarified to my knowledge that the child was at or heading to the north end of the lake or creek bank.

The video interview I posted of his father speaking of being the number one suspect had me unable to pick up any signs of deception nor have I seen any heartbreak. A puzzling blank almost. I too wondered if he was spectral and none of the interviews I've seen lead me to think this was a JC Daniels repeat.

I feel terrible for the family's tragic loss of an innocent child. RIP Maddox Ritch.
A couple come to mind.. both in Tennessee. A grandma had her two grandchildren and she stopped to help her granddaughter tie her shoe. The grandson (around 4) took off in the wooded trail behind their house. He was found dead a couple miles away in an open field. The other was the grandmother, with a history of drug use, let her granddaughter get away into the woods. She was found OK a day later. She was not initially charged even though there was clear neglect. She was later charged when she dropped out of drug treatment.
You were the one who said parents had been charged for less and I've called you on that. Give an example otherwise it would appear that your solution for being wrong repeatedly about this case is to double down.
 
I have been just reading everything and my heart is breaking. AS a grandmom to an Autistic boy and being on the Asperger's end of the spectrum myself, I can't help but hurt deep over this. I wish they had used a locator like Angelsense but I know it is all too easy for a child to take off even when parents are trying to keep close watch. I wonder if Maddox had an attraction to water like I did as a child. Even now I am drawn to it. My hope is that this was just a tragic accident. We will see as time and the investigation moves forward.
 
A couple come to mind.. both in Tennessee. A grandma had her two grandchildren and she stopped to help her granddaughter tie her shoe. The grandson (around 4) took off in the wooded trail behind their house. He was found dead a couple miles away in an open field. The other was the grandmother, with a history of drug use, let her granddaughter get away into the woods. She was found OK a day later. She was not initially charged even though there was clear neglect. She was later charged when she dropped out of drug treatment.
You were the one who said parents had been charged for less and I've called you on that. Give an example otherwise it would appear that your solution for being wrong repeatedly about this case is to double down.
I remember the first one for sure. There were nasty rumors flying and various perceptions of what happened. The grandmother’s reputation was tarnished due to unfair and harsh judgment before the facts were released. The grandma not only lost her grandson but had to stand before community criticism.
 
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