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

[pamelado2]

* to clarify, I worked with children with special needs for years until adopting my son 4 years ago and taking a break to focus on his needs.. and I know how exhausting it is mentally and physically ( most of mine were physically aggressive as that was our primary client base).. I got to come home every night and decompress. I also have 2 daughters who were super easy when small... my son however is not so much... he has been on sleep medications for 2 years and STILL only sleeps 5-6 hours max in a 24 hour period, he was born addicted to literally every drug and has violent meltdowns that he truly can not control. ( he cries and hugs me after and tells me he doesnt like feeling angry)... Its tough.. some days I'm so drained that I am begging for him to fall asleep .... I couldn't do this AND still be doing this on my job as well... We also keep our door alarms on 24/7 because he tries to sneak out daily. If not for those alerts all it would take is me peeing and him running to the road... I am not judging that and those stories... this one however was completely avoidable unless the child had super sonic speed and dad was on crutches.

Hindsight is 20/20 and most, if not all, bad things that happen are "completely avoidable". That's the problem isn't it? Do you have to be a helicopter parent to be considered a good parent? Should he never have let Maddox run? Should he have held his hand in the park? Or should he only have let Maddox get 20 feet ahead or 40 or 60 or.....
The dad said Maddox normally would stop and wait for him to catch up. But not this time

ETA - sorry I don't know how I grabbed a quote from Sunday! I thought I was on the most recent page

 

[pamelado2]

transcript
Dad "initially took off just a little ways maybe 25, 30 ft. from me and then he went to a major sprint after that and that's whenever I took off running after him. I was giving him just a little leeway, freedom, he likes playing outside he enjoys the outdoors so i just wanted him to have fun."

Reporter "how long before you began to worry?"

Dad "i started worrying once i got back and didn't see him anymore and once i got to where the office is you can see that there's the parking lot right there and you can still go around the lake, so once i could not see him anymore thats when i got scared."

Oh that makes it sound like 'once he got back' means to the beginning of the trail. They probably started at the parking lot walked a certain distance then started walking back.

 

[heartgoesout]

Oh that makes it sound like 'once he got back' means to the beginning of the trail. They probably started at the parking lot walked a certain distance then started walking back.

Agreed.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Has anyone read or heard whether or not Maddox had been to this park previously? I'm wondering if the child was familiar with his surroundings there having been there before.

 

[MissMalowe]

Has anyone read or heard whether or not Maddox had been to this park previously? I'm wondering if the child was familiar with his surroundings there having been there before.

That was their first visit to that park according to this article. BBM

Ritch was with a friend both he and law enforcement have declined to identify. The father, surrounded by law enforcement officers as he spoke to the media during a daily press conference, said Saturday was his first visit to the park.

https://www.google.com/amp/www.goup...-help-in-finding-maddox-ritch?template=ampart

 

[rosesfromangels]

“You're a grown man. He's a little boy. How did he outrun you?" @DavidBegnaud asks the father of Maddox Ritch, the missing 6-year-old autistic boy in North Carolina.

"He can run. He can run. And I couldn't keep up with him. Not that fast."

CBS News on Twitter

ETA: Full interview

OMG - this poor dad. Kids do move quickly. Kids are low to the ground and really hard to scoop up without losing balance. Not sure how low to the ground this little rascal is, but that most likely contributed to the difficulty as well. I know everyone is upset, but I think the reporter was being a bit harsh. G*d forbid we should ever find ourselves in similar shoes as this dad.

 

[Augiezzz]

OMG - this poor dad. Kids do move quickly. Kids are low to the ground and really hard to scoop up without losing balance. Not sure how low to the ground this little rascal is, but that most likely contributed to the difficulty as well. I know everyone is upset, but I think the reporter was being a bit harsh. G*d forbid we should ever find ourselves in similar shoes as this dad.

I like your optimism, it's just difficult not to be cinical this day and age....

 

[katydid23]

OMG - this poor dad. Kids do move quickly. Kids are low to the ground and really hard to scoop up without losing balance. Not sure how low to the ground this little rascal is, but that most likely contributed to the difficulty as well. I know everyone is upset, but I think the reporter was being a bit harsh. G*d forbid we should ever find ourselves in similar shoes as this dad.

True, little kids move fast. But a grown mans stride is twice as big. So if they were both running, the gown man would be able to catch up eventually. That's why it is confusing. How did the child get so far ahead that he was no longer in sight? It is very odd, when looking at the pictures because it is a wide open space.

 

[Eli13]

Sorry if this has already come up over the last 40 pages-

Why aren’t they naming the other adult? So odd! What if that person has been acting strangely? Wouldn’t it help the public to know?
This seems like one of the only times I have ever heard of an adults name being withheld?

 

[Augiezzz]

Sorry if this has already come up over the last 40 pages-

Why aren’t they naming the other adult? So odd! What if that person has been acting strangely? Wouldn’t it help the public to know?
This seems like one of the only times I have ever heard of an adults name being withheld?

Could the other adult just be 18, maybe still a student? That might explain the secrecy.

 

[Augiezzz]

Could the other adult just be 18, maybe still a student? That might explain the secrecy.

I mean, I wouldn't want anyone questioning my 18 year old whoever while I'm trying to find my son.

 

[AgeofAquaruis]

WHY do they keep saying non verbal when the mother said he DOES talk but not to strangers? There is a HUGE freakin' difference!! Thats really irritating me.

Also, anyone else confused on the dad coming out and saying that above^^?

I was thinking maybe he didn't have a phone,

transcript
Dad "initially took off just a little ways maybe 25, 30 ft. from me and then he went to a major sprint after that and that's whenever I took off running after him. I was giving him just a little leeway, freedom, he likes playing outside he enjoys the outdoors so i just wanted him to have fun."

Reporter "how long before you began to worry?"

Dad "i started worrying once i got back and didn't see him anymore and once i got to where the office is you can see that there's the parking lot right there and you can still go around the lake, so once i could not see him anymore thats when i got scared."

Got back from where?

 

[MsMarple]

Regarding the changing stories... we often see that in cases here. Sometimes early msm reports are scrapped and replaced with new info and we're left scratching our heads. In some cases it's important and in others it's just the pace of information coming out. I don't know about this case but until we get even more info from LE we can only guess.

I too have a problem with imagining a little one could outrun an adult but that doesn't mean much. I took my 2 year old grandson to the San Diego Zoo and for the most part was relaxed because the walkways are predictable and everything is fenced off. But we did hit a couple of roads where buses and trams traveled and I had to get super vigilant.

That said, even at my age I was able to catch him the couple of times he took off but he is only 2. At 6 I really don't know...

 

[Augiezzz]

I mean, I wouldn't want anyone questioning my 18 year old whoever while I'm trying to find my son.

Also, delaying questioning a youth is the best way to scramble their memory if that was the case?

 

[AmyPond]

transcript
Dad "initially took off just a little ways maybe 25, 30 ft. from me and then he went to a major sprint after that and that's whenever I took off running after him. I was giving him just a little leeway, freedom, he likes playing outside he enjoys the outdoors so i just wanted him to have fun."

Reporter "how long before you began to worry?"

Dad "i started worrying once i got back and didn't see him anymore and once i got to where the office is you can see that there's the parking lot right there and you can still go around the lake, so once i could not see him anymore thats when i got scared."

Okay...I think I get it now. He let Maddox run ahead, in the direction of the main office. He must have just assumed he'd eventually catch up to him and when he got close to the office (which is "back" where they began) he realized Maddox was missing.

 

[MsMarple]

From FBI Charlotte (@FBICharlotte) | Twitter

2hA search dog from the@MissingKids
are working hard to #FindMaddox. Call the
@GPDNC
tip line! We desperately need to hear from those in the park on Saturday. 704-869-1075.

The intensive search will continue tonight for 6-year-old Maddox Ritch. Severe weather may impact our efforts, we will only adjust our plan if the safety of searchers and law enforcement members is in jeopardy. #FindMaddox

ETA: David Begnaud (@DavidBegnaud) | Twitter is answering some questions from tweeters.

 

[LKC]

Could the other adult just be 18, maybe still a student? That might explain the secrecy.

LE has said they are protecting her privacy but that she has been cooperative. <modsnip: info not in MSM>

 

[heartgoesout]

from press conference today.

Reporter "Ian you said he was 25, 30 ft in front of you when did you actually first lose sight of him?"

Dad "around on the other side of the lake"

Reporter "at any point did he acknowledge you or acknowledge that you were trying to catch up ?"

Dad "oh several times he would looked back and at me and he'd laugh
like he normally does, he enjoys laughing at me trying to catch up with him"

Reporter "did that not slow him down at all?"

Dad "he would slow down a little then pace himself back up"

Reporter "so Ian just so we can see that, you said as he got around the lake is that going over towards the shooting range where he was going?

Dad "no he was going back towards office where the boat landing is"

Reporter "so you guys where over, over towards that way, is that where you where? (Dad "right") Reporter "and he was coming back toward the parking lot?
Dad "right"

 

[Alethea]

True, little kids move fast. But a grown mans stride is twice as big. So if they were both running, the gown man would be able to catch up eventually. That's why it is confusing. How did the child get so far ahead that he was no longer in sight? It is very odd, when looking at the pictures because it is a wide open space.

I think that's what doesn't make sense. The statement is he watched him getting further and further away. A man running with an adult stride would be closing the gap as the man ran since he'd cover more ground per step than a child.

I think it might just be poor wording in the original statement. No one is questioning whether a 6 year old could run off and get lost. But I think most people imagine a situation where a child is lost in a crowd or hides or runs in an unknown direction when a parent is distracted for even seconds. Not where a child is running off into the distance and vanishes over the horizon.

 

[Dr Awkward]

Both of my boys were able to outrun their mother (and most other adult women) by the age of 6. And it will be a long time (10 years or more?) before they can outrun an adult man.

My wife lost one of my kids at a park once, she was talking to a friend and my kid wandered off and took 10 minutes to find. With a little situational awareness though, it is not hard to keep constant tabs on one child.