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

[imstilla.grandma]

That is really remarkable. Our dogs have GPS tags, and cameras on their collars, we can track them on our phone, even in an area without cell service. Maybe at some point, everyone will need to wear something like this, a tracking device.

I’m so ignorant on the subject of Autism and Asperger’s. Is it similar? I tried my first jab at starting a thread this morning. Afraid I messed it up and didn’t add Asperger to the title. I wish this guy had one of those devices on.
UT - UT - Mason Bakker, 19, Davis County, 29 September 2018

 

[mickey2942]

I’m so ignorant on the subject of Autism and Asperger’s. Is it similar? I tried my first jab at starting a thread this morning. Afraid I messed it up and didn’t add Asperger to the title. I wish this guy had one of those devices on.
UT - UT - Mason Bakker, 19, Davis County, 29 September 2018

Autism and Asperger's syndrome is on the same spectrum, Asperger's usually refers to a person who is higher functioning, but not necessarily able to function as fully as a person who does not have the syndrome.

It can be confusing. And honestly, the diagnosis is quite political these days. Parents prefer to have a diagnosis of "Autism" rather than "mental retardation" or "developmentally disabled". There are specific behavioral indicators for Autism.

 

[yrmfp]

Just reminder map of the park verses where he was located... the red is the area his body was found.
I've also included ss from the video I saw them collecting SOMETHING in, it may not be related to Maddox however, he was found right behind that area within an hour.

 

[Starkville]

Does anyone know if Maddox had siblings/half-siblings/step-siblings or if he was his parents’ only child?

His obit doesn’t specifically mention, and “extended family” may or may not mean siblings.

Thanks in advance.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

BBM
“Brooke Sheppard said she was at the park on Saturday, Sept. 22, for a church event. She said that Maddox came up to her mother, daughter and herself on a path behind a lake, WBTV reported.

“I can remember her looking over and asking him ‘Hey buddy are you tired?’ because he had just been skipping, jogging, being a kid,” Sheppard told the station, adding that he didn’t say anything back. He then ran toward the park office.”

Maddox Ritch Case: Woman Recalls Seeing Autistic Boy in Park

 

[Steelslady]

Yes, my interpretation is that they had previously been up and down the area in kayaks but he didn't specifically say the team that found him was in kayaks. It doesn't say, obviously, but I'm guessing they did a grid search on foot to find him (chain of 15 people forming a line across the creek and walking parallel to the shore is what I am picturing).

I have no link to back this up, but I could have sworn the chief mentioned something about the kayak teams were already through that creek twice, and that it was a searcher who was actually wading through the creek that found him.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

“Maddox was a sweet and loving little boy who was full of laughter. He loved Paw Patrol, his Teddy, playing with his bouncy balls, but above all he loved his mom and dad the most,” the obituary reads.

Maddox was born in Mecklenburg County on Aug. 14, 2012 to Ian Scott Ritch and Carrie Irene Ritch.
Funeral plans announced for Maddox Ritch

 

[Gardener1850]

I have no link to back this up, but I could have sworn the chief mentioned something about the kayak teams were already through that creek twice, and that it was a searcher who was actually wading through the creek that found him.

That makes sense to me but I can't confirm without listening to the presser again. I can't watch it right now but here is the presser from when he was found:
FOX 29

 

[yrmfp]

I have no link to back this up, but I could have sworn the chief mentioned something about the kayak teams were already through that creek twice, and that it was a searcher who was actually wading through the creek that found him.

He did in the final PC but they had never walked down the creek; only kayak and walked the bank. He stated he couldn't be seen easily so I assume you need to be IN the creek to see him.

 

[yrmfp]

Gastonia Police Department

 

[imstilla.grandma]

The body was found by a team of 15 searchers in a creek about 1 mile east of Rankin Lake Park, where Maddox was last seen with his father and a friend, Gastonia Fire Chief Phil Welch said.”

“The body was partially submerged in 2 to 3 feet of water. The area, thick with underbrush, had been searched numerous times.”
Body Found in Creek Amid Search for Missing 6-Year Old North Carolina Boy With Autism

“The body of the child, believed to be Maddox, was discovered partially underwater in a marshy area of Long Creek near Marietta Street and Old Dallas Highway in Gastonia.

The area in which the body was found was thick with underbrush and was of varying depths, reaching between 2 and 3 feet, with its shore only reaching about a foot deep.”

Below is a timeline of the investigation:
Maddox Ritch Case: What to Know About Boy Believed to Have Been Found Dead

“Kaplan and Gastonia Fire Chief Phil Welch said the boy’s body was found in about 3 feet (0.9 metres) of water in a creek, slightly more than a mile (1.6 kilometres) east of the park, by a searcher who was walking down the middle of the creek as his partners stood on the bank.”
After 6-year-old’s body found, search for clues continues

“Gastonia Fire Chief Phil Welch said the body was found in a creek, slightly more than a mile east of the park, by a searcher who was walking down the middle of the creek as his partners stood on the bank. He said the area had been searched previously by drones, all-terrain vehicles and on foot.”
Body believed to be missing 6-year-old North Carolina boy found, FBI confirms

 

[AC's Grandma]

Just a thought to add about the dad. He is a diabetic with neuropathy that causes feet and leg issues, due to the extent of damage done to his body by diabetes it is very likely that he also has vision issues as well. Diabetes causes vision problems and vision loss just as it does neuropathy. with his age and the neuropathy he has, it is almost a guarantee he also suffers from vision loss or damage. Based on my own experiences with the disease. MOO

 

[imstilla.grandma]

I have radiating neuropathy down my entire leg resulting from herniated discs. It’s always there, some days are worse than others. When it is really acting up, I’m not sure I would be able to run without falling having that left leg in such pain. But I’d take that risk and just get myself up and begin again if I was trying to catch up with someone (anyone) in trouble.

 

[x_files]

Not that I’m aware of. We just have his word. Wonder why they made him do a second one though?




No, it’s not just you. We never did that when our daughter was small. No way! She is 10 and almost 5 feet tall and still isn’t allowed to wander away alone. I can’t run because I’ve had too many reconstructions on my leg because of bone tumors, so I just never allowed her to run ahead like that. I wouldn’t be able to get to her in time to save her from anything.

I have radiating neuropathy down my entire leg resulting from herniated discs. It’s always there, some days are worse than others. When it is really acting up, I’m not sure I would be able to run without falling having that left leg in such pain. But I’d take that risk and just get myself up and begin again if I was trying to catch up with someone (anyone) in trouble.

Perhaps he expected or hoped his new gf would help him watch his son if he took off?

 

[Emi]

Or maybe this is like the Sierra Lamar case (I think it was the Lamar case) Where LE was asking for assistance finding a car they had already found. They had some reason to give the impression they needed help.

Moo

yes it was that case but her name is LaMar not Lamar

 

[Emi]

They wanted to track the movements of the Perp without tipping him off that they knew who he was. In the Lamar case, they were tracking him closely; they knew who he was.

I totally agree with you

 

[dixiegirl1035]

Just a thought to add about the dad. He is a diabetic with neuropathy that causes feet and leg issues, due to the extent of damage done to his body by diabetes it is very likely that he also has vision issues as well. Diabetes causes vision problems and vision loss just as it does neuropathy. with his age and the neuropathy he has, it is almost a guarantee he also suffers from vision loss or damage. Based on my own experiences with the disease. MOO

Link please as to the father's condition.

 

[rosesfromangels]

I totally agree with you

Hi Emi! No one on WS knows that case better than you.

In this case, or any, LE uses a variety of tracking measures to evaluate suspects. In so many ways they are predictable. It’s never a lack of knowledge, just resources to nail Perps. (IMO).

It’s still unclear if this was solely a tragic accident. The autopsy should tell us that.

Amateur opinion and speculation

 

[Emi]

Hi Emi! No one on WS knows that case better than you.

In this case, or any, LE uses a variety of tracking measures to evaluate suspects. In so many ways they are predictable. It’s never a lack of knowledge, just resources to nail Perps. (IMO).

It’s still unclear if this was solely a tragic accident. The autopsy should tell us that.

Amateur opinion and speculation

Sorry for the offtopic in this thread but a Thank you and like isn't enough.

 

[Backstroke10]

Have you been there before? It doesn't look like the entire trail around the lake is visible from all places from the drone footage posted earlier in the thread (I'll try to go back and find it). The lake is huge. And I thought there were other trails that went through some woods as well. We don't know what part of the park the three women were in and what part of the park Maddox ran from his dad. He might have run to the opposite side of the park and perhaps dad was looking for him in the wrong place at that moment. Maddox might have thought he was playing a game and when everyone started yelling his name he might have hidden. We just don't know and I think it's wrong to accuse the father of lying when the FBI have said all indications are his account of event is accurate. JMO.

I don't know...I can see just thinking you're going to find him, where could he go, and then just not realizing how much time had passed or even recognizing that you need help. As for him not making the call himself, I can see that if he was too worked up. My daughter disappeared once and I honestly can't remember who called the police. It might have been me, or my husband, or our neighbor who was helping to find her. I'm guessing it wasn't me because I was freaking out too much.

IMO I completely agree with both of these posts. The lake/park/trail looked huge from the videos I've seen and there were curves in the path. Also, I think mothers tend to be more "helicopter" parents than fathers. I'm sure the father let him run ahead dozens of times with nothing ever happening. People don't think things like this could happen to their child. As far as not calling the police right away and not calling from his own cell phone, I completely understand this. I've watched and read about hundreds of missing child cases as I'm sure we all have and many of the parents don't call 911 immediately. Many of the parents search for hours and say (paraphrasing) they just kept thinking they would find their child at a friends house, neighbors house, wandered off while playing, etc. and calling 911 would mean facing the unimaginable. I can easily see how panic would set in while searching everywhere and yelling out for someone to call 911. JMO

 

[MissMalowe]

Realize this would be based purely on speculation and guess, but was curious to know everyone's thoughts/guess as to the length of time between Maddox running off and his ending up in the creek? Was it immediately? Within a few hours? Over 24 hours? Days?