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

[floridamomma]

I just started following this case and I'm glad I didnt' get to behind on it and am now caught up. Not sure if anyone saw this but Maddox's father has spoke out now.

‘I would never hurt my little boy’: Dad of Maddox Ritch speaks out after autistic son, 6, disappears while in his care

‘I would never hurt my little boy’: Dad of Maddox Ritch speaks out after autistic son, 6, disappears while in his care

As a long time statement analy sis fan; this statement concerns me.

 

[LietKynes]

As a long time statement analy sis fan; this statement concerns me.

Why ?
Back when little DeOrr Kunz went missing, the PI involved mentioned 'distancing' language -- DeOrr's parents kept referring to him as, 'the little man' and 'the kid' .... but never by his actual name.
Is that what you mean ?

 

[perfectingpink]

Sorry! Wrong thread.

 

[katydid23]

Why ?
Back when little DeOrr Kunz went missing, the PI involved mentioned 'distancing' language -- DeOrr's parents kept referring to him as, 'the little man' and 'the kid' .... but never by his actual name.
Is that what you mean ?

Also, saying 'I would never' is not as definitive as saying 'I did not..' ---which is possibly what she is alluding to?

 

[Amonet]

As a long time statement analy sis fan; this statement concerns me.

I am glad to see that some statements from the parents have started to be reported. I am making hand-scribbled transcripts of anything I come across.

I think both of them are speaking in terms of being heartbroken. The People article linked here said that the dad is either grieving/grief stricken, and his words do come across that way. They both sound like they love their little boy and they both seem very upset.

NB the things I've pointed out here, I am being very circumspect in the things I'm noting at this point...I do have other things in there I'm looking at, I just don't want to go too far into it for now.

 

[heartgoesout]

As a long time statement analy sis fan; this statement concerns me.

I'm a huge statement analysis fan too.

 

[Amonet]

Let's look at this one that I've copied down from the People article that was linked to on this thread.

The dad speaking to PEOPLE

"These past few days have been hell for me. I'm so broken. I'm heartbroken."

"Every time it gets dark at night I burst into tears because I'm thinking 'my little boy is out there alone'. The longer [the search] is going the harder it gets because I'm so worried. He hasn't had anything to eat or drink."

I'm not going to do a proper analysis of that (in my layman's ability) but at the end of all the heart break and tears he has mentioned that Maddox has gone for days without food and drink, which obviously a little boy does need for survival.

 

[Alethea]

I'm glad the FBI is making statements about social media rumors and I hope they do it in more cases. I think they mean when there are unfounded rumors like he was found or LE knows what happened, it can cause people to stop being vigilant or looking on their property or volunteering to search. If LE makes a discovery, they will announce it. Otherwise, keep searching your property for this kid, volunteer when they ask for volunteers, don't be annoyed by road closures, etc.

 

[Steelslady]

What baffles me is there are two adults and neither one can catch him running behind a jogger? How about call out to the guy running and scream at him to stop his son? I question the jogger story.

I am going to sit on my hands on this one for the time being, however, I have two joggers in my family. They listen to their Ipods while jogging/running. So to be fair to all in this case, I felt it important to at least post the possibility that the jogger might not have heard the father or his friend screaming for Maddox, depending upon how far away they were from the jogger.

What I am wondering is if the police knew about this jogger in the first place, and was a description given of this jogger?

 

[heartgoesout]

I think they meant if there was a jogger at all.

 

[Steelslady]

I did find the amount of time/effort spent discussing the social media rumor mill to be a bit odd. Rumors and false information spreads like wildfire in most cases it seems.
He mentioned how it's most terrible for parents reading it but also bad because searches then stop because the searchers think things have changed...why would first responders/searchers/LE stop based on social media rumors? Why would they even be looking on their phones at social media if they are supposed to be searching? I didn't understand that part at all.

Thank you!!!!! You spoke my mind perfectly! I have never seen them emphasize this in any other missing children's cases before. It's one thing to mention it once, but they keep on stating this over and over again. Who cares what other people are saying on social media? If this sad story of Maddox simply taking off is true, then it will be egg on their faces for being heartless and vindictive people. Find Maddox, for Crying out loud, the hell with Facebook and other pages- focus on Him and no one else!

Also, I truly get that the Mom could have social anxiety disorder and she could just be scared to pieces getting up in front of the camera. I don't think she is involved in anything sinister, especially since LE stated that they do have evidence that Maddox was indeed at the park that day, and she was not there when he disappeared.

 

[Alethea]

I am going to sit on my hands on this one for the time being, however, I have two joggers in my family. They listen to their Ipods while jogging/running. So to be fair to all in this case, I felt it important to at least post the possibility that the jogger might not have heard the father or his friend screaming for Maddox, depending upon how far away they were from the jogger.

What I am wondering is if the police knew about this jogger in the first place, and was a description given of this jogger?

How far would you have to run to be out of sight in this park? In all the photos posted it looks like a long flat trail around a lake.

 

[sleuther0192837465]

LE said they spoke with a lot of people that were at the park, but not everyone that was there. Wonder if they talked to any joggers?
Is there an obvious path around the lake? Or was it just grass/trees, etc.?
I’ve become a bit jaded about these types of cases...so I will only say I hope they find Maddox soon.

 

[Steelslady]

In missing child cases, a lot of us tend to give a side-eye to the parents. But I know that sometimes there is nothing sinister that happened because accidents can easily occur. And if that's what happened here, then I can see why LE is trying to protect them. The public can be brutal. If they have photo or video evidence of him in the park that day....I wish they'd release it. Because maybe people would back off the parents. But...maybe they don't have anything like that. I don't know.

(Side note - I really glad I take 1000 pictures and videos of my kid every day.)

If they do have a video of him in the park, it should be released ASAP. What would they be waiting for? Seeing the video and the child, at the very least, might jog someone's memory.

 

[AgeofAquaruis]

Is it odd that FBI is conducting media updates rather than local LE? Just wondering if this is usually the case.

If local LE ask for FBI help this makes sense.

 

[LietKynes]

If they do have a video of him in the park, it should be released ASAP. What would they be waiting for? Seeing the video and the child, at the very least, might jog someone's memory.

THIS ^^^^
Agreed and VERY well said !
Even if it's a private person's video (of someone else , but with Maddox running around in the background, etc.) --- and they're willing to let it be public ! (personal faces can be blurred out)

 

[KaylynnCouture]

I’ve been following this case but today was the first I had heard about the photographer taking pictures at the park that police are looking to talk to. Has anyone heard anything more on that or if they tracked him down?

Continuing to pray for little Maddox.

 

[heartgoesout]

I am confused on the non verbal statement. So someone, I'm assuming either mom or dad told LE Maddox is non verbal to which LE released that info. And that is huge info. Now I'm reading this is not entirely the case and he does verbalize, just not to everyone. Can anyone add any thought to this?

 

[Steelslady]

How far would you have to run to be out of sight in this park? In all the photos posted it looks like a long flat trail around a lake.

The only thing that I can think of, being a person who hikes and walks through lots of parks and trails myself, is that perhaps there was two scenarios that may have occurred:

1. There could have been a curve in the path, to which if Maddox and the jogger ran quickly around it, the father could have lost sight and was frantically looking side to side of the trail, making sure that Maddox didn't go into the woods and off of the trail.

2. At a park I was recently walking with hubby in New York, there was a gorgeous 2 mile path all around the lake, however, there were also several areas to which there were more paths (a fork in the road, so to speak- you could either stay on the same path going around the lake or take another one that veered off into a path that went into the woods). Many walkers and joggers went onto the wooded path while we stayed on the same path as the lake, as we were not locals and seeing that it was getting dark out, we didn't dare venture off into the woods because we weren't sure where the path lead.

I do not know the lay out of this park that Maddox and his father and friend were at, but I am wondering if there was a fork at one point, that perhaps Maddox went on one path and the father and friend kept on the same path, thinking he was still on the same path? Especially if it was near the water, the father would probably stay on that path, in case Maddox might attempt to go swimming- I can understand that reasoning, especially with kids who love the water- all of mine did at his age, and that was always the first place we would look when our little Houdini took off twice on us, and she certainly was by the water one time, getting ready to go swimming, and another time she was happily diving into the campground pool, to which she was smart enough to follow another family into the pool area, so no one thought anything of her being there, as they assumed she was part of that family that came in- she was Maddox's age when she pulled that hair graying and hair pulling stunt!

 

[my1nonlyaspen]

I am confused on the non verbal statement. So someone, I'm assuming either mom or dad told LE Maddox is non verbal to which LE released that info. And that is huge info. Now I'm reading this is not entirely the case and he does verbalize, just not to everyone. Can anyone add any thought to this?

Yes I’m very confused about this. There is a huge difference between being non verbal and not talking to strangers. Like HUGE. As I mentioned pages back, my aspen is non verbal. There are no words. He does hum, cry, laugh. If he were in danger though, he would not know the appropriate response. So who said non verbal?

Second, the no food or drinks for days. This is very typical of ASD kids. Aspen takes a special medicine at night to increase appetite. He would go hours and hours not eating but we encourage eating and he will usually eat something after a little while. I find it concerning they’d let Maddox go days bc most autistic kids are super picky. They don’t get all the veggies and fruits neurotypical kids get. So you can’t let them go for days!

Lastly, I’m not saying the parents did it. I can say though, I could see it. I love my boy. With all my heart. He’s in diapers and I’ll wipe him til the day I die and feed him each piece of cereal like I do every night. But there are days, oh are there days. There are days where I ask what kind of life we are living? What kind of life is aspen living? Am I making him suffer when he screams and hits me and himself bc he’s so upset? I’ve has suicidal thoughts - that we’d be better off bc this isn’t a life for us. Some days we can’t enjoy anything bc of his tantrums. I’m not saying the parents did it but I could see it.