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

[Lillymac]

I can't find a video of the presser that has the FBI lady speaking before her but here is the mother's statement:

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I do recall seeing that the FBI lady made a statement that no one would be allowed to question the mother or the interview would be over. IMO, one reason for that strong statement being made may be because of a previous presser:

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In the above video the press (and community members it seems) asked repeatedly for info on the parents when LE said the parents had asked for privacy and they would not be releasing their names at that time. I think perhaps the officers were frustrated by these questions and wanted to keep the focus on Maddox, not his parents. JMO.

Thank you. This has really helped. Prayers for all involved.

 

[Lillymac]

How do I send a message to someone? Or is that possible....

 

[2Hope4]

Silence from LE still? Was hoping they would make a public statement soon!

 

[Beagle]

Silence from LE still? Was hoping they would make a public statement soon!

at this point i would imagine there isn't any real info, until we get the autopsy back nothing to speculate with, at the moment it's just guess work

 

[kkdj]

at this point i would imagine there isn't any real info, until we get the autopsy back nothing to speculate with, at the moment it's just guess work

If COD was drowning wouldn't that be in by now?

 

[Beagle]

If COD was drowning wouldn't that be in by now?

you would think so, I never understand why they take so long even blood tests mostly don't take that much time

 

[Miamama]

I have a question that might be kind of stupid...

If LE saw something with a child's body that indicated homicide, would they tell the family right away or would they wait until the autopsy was completed?

 

[Curious.1]

How do I send a message to someone? Or is that possible....

Haven't tried it myself, but I think you go up to the top of the page where it says your name, then Inbox, start conversation, type in the user name of the person you want to message.

 

[Angleterre]

I truly don't know, to be honest. If only I wasn't so confused with the at times cryptic and mixed messages that LE and the FBI are posting daily, I would lean towards an accidental drowning myself. We've seen it happen every so often, and it is just devastating to say the least.

LE and the FBI's non stop posts about wanting people at the park at that time period to call in. The FBI from Charlotte posting several days in a row about not speculating or discussing rumors on social media. The female FBI spokeswoman who mentioned that if any reporter dared to ask the mother any questions when she got up to speak, that the interview was over- pardon me, but that's not an interview, so to speak. That same FBI female stating that the mother was under the care of a victim counselor right from the start- I don't understand why she would even need to mention that, it seems personal to me. LE and the FBI stating that the investigation is still ongoing, and again, pleas for people to call in if they were at the park during that time keep coming out several times a day. I keep wondering why the ME hasn't stated yet that this was an accidental drowning- I am no expert, but others on here in other cases have said that they know within the next day if a drowning is accidental, something about the lungs not having water in them? Does anyone know what I am talking about? That's why I don't understand this at all, the majority of the ME's state it right away if it was an accidental drowning, but this ME is either holding off stating it for their own reasons, or perhaps more is being investigated because of the condition of Maddox's body. I hope that this is cleared up soon, though, one way or the other. I am sure Maddox's family and friends would be relieved a little bit if it was accidental and nothing sinister happened to him.

Could there have been a predator at the park? Absolutely. Was there one that day? So far, nothing that LE or the FBI has said has indicated as such, but maybe there is something going on behind the scenes that they may be leaning towards this angle. Hard to tell at this point.

It could possibly be that they are aware of wether it’s a drowning or not but they are doing lung tissue tests etc
I don’t know the medical or post mortem terminology and other websleuthers may be able to explain this much more succinctly than I but they ( Pathologists) can do investigative work around dry/wet lung and water / air ingested which will give you an idea coupled with other information around where and when Maddox was found. There are other considerations too which are around what else may be found post mortem that all need to be pieced together like a jigsaw. It’s not always, from my own personal experiences, quite so clear cut.

For example, I once had an investigation into a new born baby that didn’t make a sound when Mum birthed him in the toilet when she was home alone ( first baby and she had frontal lobe lobotomy due to car accident injuries). Because of various contributing factors which I won’t detail, she thought the baby was dead because he wasn’t making any sound and didn’t appear to be breathing . So, because of her metal challenges, she decided to put him out in the trash bin which also had collected rainwater in the bottom.
Take the emotion out of this for a minute if you can, and think about how the post mortem pathologist then had to decide if the baby was alive or stillborn , did he actually take a breath of air or not AND if so, did he drown in the water within the bin receptacle ??? After some days of work on baby’s lungs, he was subsequently able to give accurate results regarding wether the baby took a breath or not and if he drowned or not . Very clever work undertaken which took a few long days . RIP baby boy x

 

[Charlot123]

I've followed diffrent cases on websleuths for years but I have never posted. I have to say it's certainly one of the most respectful and compassionate forums that I've witnessed of this nature. My comment is a bit of a side note but I feel compelled to give my prospective regarding the comments concerning the father being on the spectrum.
I am high functioning as is my father, my daughter and my son. You can't tell by just seeing or listening to someone but there are what appears to be traits in Ian Ritch. I was actually discussing this with my husband a couple of days ago and told him I was glad to see so many people on this site that were willing to accept the dad may process differently regardless of the reason. In emergency or highly emotional situations, I rarely act in typical manner but I usually mask so well that most people never know why. Masking well is helpful in every day life but could really be detrimental in emergency situations in which you don't react as expected. I always over react or under react never in the middle. I feel like I would shut down and be nonverbal myself or completely freak out and lose it if anything ever happened to one of my children but I have no idea how I would actually react. As a person on the spectrum as well as parent of children on the spectrum that is another constant worry.

Thank you for your post. Your perspective and view of Ian and the way he responded is very important. Not only for us, but for Ian Ritch as well.

I feel sorry for him, I think he might not be expressing it well, but he is mourning, like any dad would. I sincerely hope that they will come to a conclusion that it was accidental drowning and close this case. I wish Maddox's parents to get support and help during their mourning.

Any parent may also get shell-shocked instead of acting rationally, especially when it concerns his/her kids. I once saw it in own parents.

 

[MsFacetious]

So he was NOT non-verbal after all? (To this peds nurse, non-verbal means does not talk EVER.) Not a game-changer, but definitely makes you go hmmm......

His dad said from the start he was a big talker at home but wouldn't talk around strangers.

Yes, this was quickly clarified that he was in fact verbal, perhaps selectively mute would have been a more appropriate term . However, I believe it was released that way because to anyone who might find him he WOULD be non-verbal.

Since he would only talk to close family, any stranger or searcher that might find him would believe him to be non-verbal. I believe that is why it was initially released that way.

Then when there was all the confusion about whether or not he could even make noise, they had to come out and clarify what they meant.

You're welcome! The interview with the FBI woman and mother was posted in the first thread, I am sure you can find it either there or on Google. She was very adamant about the reporters not asking the mother any questions. I hope and pray that the little guy wasn't assaulted in any way.

Yes it was an press conference just to be clear. So the mother was giving the statement to the media and the media was threatened that if they asked any questions the press conference would end. I've never seen anything like it.

If COD was drowning wouldn't that be in by now?

That depends on a lot of things. Decomposition. Animal activity. Natural damage that may have occurred from flood waters. There are so many factors at play here especially with a fairly little boy. Yes, they may know it's drowning. Or they may not. Even if they DO know whether or not he drowned, they are unlikely to release that immediately.

you would think so, I never understand why they take so long even blood tests mostly don't take that much time

Toxicology takes weeks. IF decomposition/damage was too advanced to determine drowning or not, toxicology becomes more important. Some M.E. don't like to give a cause of death until after toxicology is in as well. There are just a lot of factors at play here. With the FBI involved, they may just be making sure they are totally thorough.

I am optimistic that they will be able to determine whether or not he drowned. I don't believe that decomp will be that advanced. However, I could certainly be wrong.

 

[katydid23]

How do I send a message to someone? Or is that possible....

Click on the avatar name of the person that you want to message. A little box will appear. One of the choices is : 'start conversation'

Click on that ^^^^, and a page comes up, and you can send them a private message by filling it in



P.S.---check your inbox, in the top right corner

 

[MyTinkieGirl]

Lord. How funny is this. I hadn't posted in a long time, before this. I keep getting ready to post something, or, my opinion/response to someone's question, I reread it, think better to not post it, save it to my draft folder in my email account, and, end up having to write....

Deleted.

 

[MissMalowe]

Video of FBI warning/instructing reporters prior to Maddox's mother, Carrie Ritch, speaking.

(The video was embedded in the post and I can't figure out how to just put a direct link to the video here. It is post #362 by CyberVampira, the 2nd post on that page)

www.websleuths.com/forums/threads/nc-maddox-ritch-6-w-autism-gastonia-22-sept-2018.391860/page-19#post-14422088

 

[MyTinkieGirl]

I'm thinking maybe they're not saying anything - results, etc. - until after Maddox's funeral, out of respect for the family?
No sense in announcing, right now, what seems pretty obvious, IMO.

 

[Justice101]

Still following.

COD is importt

 

[MyTinkieGirl]

Still following.

COD is importt

You're exactly right. I'm just trying to be positive. Which, for me, is quite the feat right now. LOL

 

[Gardener1850]

I have a question that might be kind of stupid...

If LE saw something with a child's body that indicated homicide, would they tell the family right away or would they wait until the autopsy was completed?

Depends on the investigation (IMO). If they have a suspect in mind they might want to try to keep that preliminary info quiet until an arrest was made so that the suspect doesn't have any reason to run or destroy evidence. And also so they don't get any false confessions. That's why people always wonder when an autopsy takes a long time if the delay is because they are trying to arrest a suspect first. If they have cleared the parents, they may tell them right away but I think most investigators error on the side of caution and not tell them anything until they are sure (and they may have to wait on the autopsy). I mean, if he was shot with a gun or something really obvious they might tell the parents that there were signs of foul play without revealing any details. But if he has injuries that are not clear like bruises and scratches it may be impossible to tell them anything without waiting for the final autopsy results.

Most the time I see them not telling anyone anything in order to protect the investigation. But this also protects innocent family too IMO. Can you imagine the extra grief and trauma it would cause to tell the parents there were signs of foul play only to have the medical examiner's final notes indicate trauma to the body was caused after death by an animal or the elements? On the other hand, if the parents have been cleared, then LE may want to tell them before the autopsy is released so that they don't hear the info on the news.

It's always a balancing act, in my opinion, because the autopsy is public record (unless sealed by a judge due to an ongoing criminal investigation) and the media have most likely already filed an FOIA request to get it as soon as it is ready. I feel like they also try to delay releasing autopsy results until after a funeral out of respect for the family. Especially with a child. MOO.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Special t-shirts are being sold on customink.com to honor the memory of Maddox Ritch, who was found dead after being missing for six days.

All proceeds from the shirts go to help the Ritch family with funeral expenses.

The shirts feature the autism puzzle piece with a heart cut out. It's placed directly over the heart with the #maddoxwarriors on the back.
Special shirt being sold to help family of Maddox Ritch

 

[Ketzer]

I know the FBI has jurisdiction in kidnapping cases involving children of "tender age," but is it common for the FBI to become involved within one day? Has this been par for the course in cases of other missing children or is it perhaps indicative that LE suspected early on that there was more to this than a lost child?