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

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Erica Rakow‏ @EricaRakow

'This morning, FBI divers are joining the already massive team that's been searching for 6-year-old Maddox Ritch for the past 6 days. This story is heartbreaking and scary. I pray they get the clue they need to find him. He's on the autism spectrum and can't talk. @WPTV'

Erica Rakow on Twitter

*Video at link
 
“On Thursday, members of a specialized dive team with the Federal Bureau of Investigation will search the Rankin Park Lake, located near where Ritch disappeared on Saturday, according to WBTV.

The FBI plans to bring new equipment, different from what’s been previously used, to the lake search, according to WBTV. Gastonia police continue to drain the lake.”

Day 6: Dive teams to search lake for missing Gastonia boy with autism
Saturday
Investigators said Maddox's father lost track of his son around 1:30 p.m. at the park. Dispatch records showed first responders weren't called until 2:33 p.m.

Sunday
The FBI arrived in Gastonia to help local law enforcement with the search. Supervisor Jason Kaplan said the Child Abduction Rapid Deployment Team (CARD) was brought in as well.

Monday
At a news conference on Monday, Kaplan showed pictures of the shirt and shoes Maddox was wearing on Saturday: An orange shirt that read, "I'M THE MAN" and sandal-like shoes with closed toes. Kaplan also said the boy's parents recorded messages for crews to play while they were searching.
In a news release, Gastonia Police said an AMBER Alert had not been issued in the case because it did not meet the criteria.

Tuesday
Carrie Ritch, Maddox's mother, spoke to local media and urged anyone who was at the park on Saturday to call the tip line at 704-869-1075. An FBI spokesperson said the boy's father, Ian, was not at the news conference because he was with officers at the park, retracing his steps from Saturday.

Kaplan announced a $10,000 reward was being offered in the case.

Gastonia Police Chief Robert Helton asked a professional photographer and a male jogger who were in the area to get in touch with authorities.

Wednesday
The 911 call from a part-time park employee about Maddox's disappearance was released.
Ian Ritch spoke to Good Morning America about his son's disappearance, saying the child ran off from him and his friend. Later in the day, the father spoke to local media and answered questions.

Chief Helton asked a man wearing a camouflage hat who was at the lake with a white pickup truck loading kayaks to call the tip line.

Thursday
The FBI dive team plans to search the lake and use different equipment than what had used in previous searches.
Click to expand...
TIMELINE: The disappearance of Maddox Ritch

Oh my, another cutie with his little button up shirt on. My heart hurts.
upload_2018-9-27_6-3-24.jpeg
upload_2018-9-27_6-11-23.jpeg


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Look at his sweet little face (in the link below). He is precious! Praying for you, buddy.

imstilla.grandma said:
“On Thursday, members of a specialized dive team with the Federal Bureau of Investigation will search the Rankin Park Lake, located near where Ritch disappeared on Saturday, according to WBTV.

The FBI plans to bring new equipment, different from what’s been previously used, to the lake search, according to WBTV. Gastonia police continue to drain the lake.”

Day 6: Dive teams to search lake for missing Gastonia boy with autism

TIMELINE: The disappearance of Maddox Ritch
Click to expand...
 
Tough to believe it's taken this long to find the little guy.

When he was first reported missing there were only one or two reporters outside the entrance of the park. As a drove away from work past the park this morning there are now what it seems like an army of them out there.

I'm glad this is getting the attention it is. Hopefully today is the day he's found.
 
It's cool and rainy here in Charlotte, and all I can think about is this sweet, little boy cold, wet, hungry...not to mention his mental and emotional state. Gosh I pray they find him soon. It is so hard to believe that with all these resources and manpower they still haven't found him if he is indeed still in the park. Hoping for a happy reunion for Maddox and his family.
 
After watching the father's interview on the previous page, I hope to God I'm wrong, but, I'm going with sorta hinky. There's too many different things going on. There's a jogger, then, the boy chose "a different path" running towards parking lot, by an office, by a boat dock, a man's on the beach. Then, there's three different people in a row on the track when Maddox ran. There seems to be a lot of particulars. The child is in an orange shirt - how do you lose sight of an orange shirt. Sorry. I'm NOT in good shape, but, I can make chase. If there's all these people, and he's chasing him, and, even a man on the beach supposedly asked Maddox a question about his parents. If he's close enough to see where/what path Maddox took, all these people, and, he's not yelling "stop that boy, please"? I'm not trying to be condescending here, but, I could see him maybe running and not listening if there were a puppy loose. A 6 yo does not run faster than a man that size no matter how far ahead. Like I said, I hope I'm wrong about this. I'll apologize profusely to any people on here I may have offended if I'm wrong on this one.
ETA: I'm just going on the interview on the previous page.
 
MyTinkieGirl said:
After watching the father's interview on the previous page, I hope to God I'm wrong, but, I'm going with sorta hinky. There's too many different things going on. There's a jogger, then, the boy chose "a different path" running towards parking lot, by an office, by a boat dock, a man's on the beach. Then, there's three different people in a row on the track when Maddox ran. There seems to be a lot of particulars. The child is in an orange shirt - how do you lose sight of an orange shirt. Sorry. I'm NOT in good shape, but, I can make chase. If there's all these people, and he's chasing him, and, even a man on the beach supposedly asked Maddox a question about his parents. If he's close enough to see where/what path Maddox took, all these people, and, he's not yelling "stop that boy, please"? I'm not trying to be condescending here, but, I could see him maybe running and not listening if there were a puppy loose. A 6 yo does not run faster than a man that size no matter how far ahead. Like I said, I hope I'm wrong about this. I'll apologize profusely to any people on here I may have offended if I'm wrong on this one.
Click to expand...

You make great points.

I just don't know what to believe happened here, too many possible scenarios. :/

I mean, obviously I could be wrong but look at the vibe we got immediately from the Watts case, I'm not sure I get that from the Dad and then again the conflicting details... eugh
 
Watched the interview with the park employee that made the 911 call. He really seems that something was off. It has bothered me since and this is what I came up with: perhaps the dad was hesitant to report because Maddox just didn't happily scamper off as presented but instead saw the dad and the lady friend smooch or hold hands or something similar that he didn't like and he bolted on purpose? I don't know, probably not but that's what I came up with. JMO, well not even an opinion, just a thought I guess.
 
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IceIce9 said:
The father has stated that this was the first time he took Maddox to this park. He said he has let him run ahead of him in other parks.

I am wondering if the other parks had lakes like this one does?
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This is my fear with situations like this - people might even see this in family, friends, neighbors, etc. You know, when you see someone doing something (maybe even repeatedly) and you think to yourself ... ‘umm, this looks like an accident waiting to happen’ or ‘one of these days....’. And eventually, one of those future days something does happen, due to carelessness or odds or whatever. I think that’s what happenened with Maddox, and they will find him in the park or water at some point. :(
 
“Police released the 911 call Wednesday that was made nearly an hour after Maddox went missing. Rick Foxx, who works at Rankin Lake Park, made the call. He doesn't believe Maddox was ever there.

"It didn't look as though, they were that concerned," Foxx said of the boy's father and his girlfriend, who was with him at the park. "I've worked there almost three years and we see everybody come in and out of that park pretty much. I didn't see that kid one time."

...

The FBI previously said it had evidence Maddox was at the park Saturday, but has never explained what that evidence is. Ritch told CBS News he took two polygraph tests, but the FBI would not comment on the results. The park remains closed until further notice.”
911 caller doesn't believe 6-year-old boy with autism was ever at park where he went missing

I was afraid of this after listening to the recording. The park employee seemed a bit aggravated he couldn’t get the father immediately to answer his questions.
 
According to Ritch, Maddox was about 25 feet to 30 feet (7 meters to 9 meters) away before he broke into a sprint just as a jogger passed them. The father said he is a diabetic and because he has neuropathy in his feet, he has trouble running.

“He likes running,” Ritch said. “I couldn’t catch up with him. I feel guilt for letting him get so far ahead of me before I started running after him.”

Ritch said the boy looked back at him and laughed, adding that he would slow down and then speed up again. With the help of the friend, Ritch searched for his son but couldn’t find him. Park personnel also joined in the search but didn’t see Maddox, either. After an hour, Ritch called 911, saying he delayed that call because he thought he would find his son and there was no reason to call police.

Gastonia Police Chief Robert Helton says they’ve searched thousands of acres, drained the lake and conducted hundreds of interviews. Helton says investigators still want to speak to a jogger, a person who was pulling a kayak out of the lake and anyone in a group photographing three children in Dr. Seuss costumes.
Click to expand...
Father says search for missing son has been torture
 
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