Tragic end: An FBI office in North Carolina announced this afternoon that a body believed to be that of six-year-old missing boy Maddox Ritch
An FBI office in North Carolina announced this afternoon that a body believed to be that of a missing six-year-old boy who disappeared from a park on Saturday has been recovered.
The FBI Charlotte sent out a tweet saying that a body thought to be that of Maddox Ritch was found at 1pm off of Marietta Street/Old Dallas Highway in Gastonia.
‘Maddox’s parents have been notified of the discovery. The investigation is ongoing,’ the message read.
Maddox was reported missing from Rankin Lake Park on Saturday afternoon after his father, Ian Ritch, said the boy ran away from him and he was unable to catch up to him.
Earlier, park employee Rick Foxx, who called 911 on Saturday to report Maddox missing and who initially helped with the search, said he does not believe the child was ever at the park.
Foxx also claimed Ian Ritch did not seem very concerned about his special-needs son in the immediate aftermath of the boy’s disappearance.
Ian and a female companion were the last people to have seen the six-year-old before the boy vanished.
Ritch said at a press conference with police and FBI agents on Wednesday that he could not catch up with his son after letting him get far ahead of him on a footpath, for which he said he feels guilt.
Rankin Lake Park worker Ray Foxx (left) left says six-year-old Maddox Ritch’s father, Ian (right) did not look like a ‘concerned parent’ when he came to him saying his son has gone missing
A search team walks down Tulip Drive in Gastonia, North Carolina, Wednesday
‘I’m not eating. I’m not sleeping,’ Ritch said. ‘I’m just worried about getting my little boy back. I thought after the first night, he would be fine.
‘I just want my little boy back home. I want to know he’s safe. I want to give him a big hug as soon as I see him. I just want to know he’s safe.’
On the same day, the Gastonia Police Department released the 911 call that Ranklin Lake Park employee Rick Foxx made after being approached by Ian Ritch.
On his 911 call, Foxx told an emergency dispatcher that a father told him his son had been missing for nearly an hour.
The park worker told the dispatcher that the missing boy was last seen by the pier and some trees, and he described him as a white male with blonde hair wearing an orange shirt and black shorts.
Five days later, Foxx says he does not believe that Maddox was ever at the 240-acre park, which has been scoured by more than 300 officers and FBI agents since Saturday.
‘I’ve worked there almost three years and we see everybody come in and out of that park pretty much,’ Foxx said. ‘I didn’t see that kid one time.’
CBS News reported that the FBI previously said it had evidence that Maddox was present at the park on Saturday afternoon, but never said what that evidence was.
Foxx said Ian Ritch did not look like concerned parent to him. On the other hand, he said Maddox’s mother, Carrie (right) was frantic and hysterical
In an interview with WSOC-TV, Foxx said of Ian Ritch’s demeanor on Saturday: ‘He didn’t act like a concerned parent, like I would act, or any concerned parent would act.’
Foxx told the station that Ian Ritch seemed out of breath when he first came by his office asking for help.
The park worker said he told the man to stay put while he got in a golf cart and went looking for Maddox on his own.
After making several rounds, Foxx contacted police.
When Maddox’s mother, Carrie Ritch, arrived on scene, Foxx said she appeared frantic with worry.
‘She was hysterical,’ the park worker recalled. ‘She got out of the car, and one of the sheriff’s deputies had to calm her.’
On Wednesday, Ian Ritch said he and his son, along with a friend described in media reports as his girlfriend whose name has not been released, were making their first visit to the park.
A search team turns onto Rankin Lake Road in Gastonia, N.C. Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2018. Local law enforcement officers, fire and rescue personnel, and the F.B.I. continue to look for clues to the whereabouts of 6-year-old Maddox Ritch who disappeared from Rankin Lake Park near downtown Gastonia, N.C., Saturday, Sept. 22, 2018. (John Clark /The Gaston Gazette via AP)
The message on the sign in front of the Greater Gaston Baptist Association office is shown Wednesday
According to Ritch, Maddox was about 25 feet to 30 feet 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.
Maddox is autistic and has limited verbal skills, the boy’s parents have said
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.
Meanwhile, Ritch knows he’s a potential target for investigators in his son’s disappearance.
‘I mean, I know I’m the number one suspect when it starts. That’s plain and simple,’ Ritch told CBS News, adding that he has cooperated with investigators. ‘Everything that they’ve asked for, I’ve given them right off the bat.’
Ian told People magazine that he let his son run for a little bit but when Maddox started running faster he gave chase. Ian said he lost sight of Maddox before he could catch up to him.
‘I was terrified. I didn’t know which direction he went so I looked as hard as I could, I went different ways and everything,’ he said. ‘I tried to find him. I don’t know where he went. Usually when he takes off running he’ll slow down and stop for me to catch up with him. This time he never stopped.
Since the youngster was reported missing, hundreds of officials from the FBI, Gastonia Police Department, Gastonia Fire Department and other agencies have scoured the park hoping to find a trace of the little boy.
‘After the first day I thought they would have found him,’ Ritch told Good Morning America on Wednesday. ‘I feel like I should’ve caught him, not let him get too far,’ Ian said. ‘That’s what upsets me.
‘It’s hard to sleep. I feel guilty because I can go to a house and lay down on the bed,’ Ritch continued, ‘and he’s out there in the woods sleeping on the ground and that’s very upsetting.’
‘These past few days have been hell for me. I’m so broken. I’m heartbroken,’ Ian said. ‘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.’
He added: ‘People are making it out like I did something to him. I would never hurt my little boy. I love him to death and I just want him back. I’ve been feeling the blame since this happened. I just wish I would have caught him before he got too far away from me. It’s broken my heart to think that I just let him get too far away.’
On Tuesday, Mom, Carrie Ritch gave an emotional plea begging for help to find her son
The Gastonia Police Department spent another day searching for missing six-year-old Maddox Ritch in Rankin Lake Park in Gastonia, North Caroliona on Tuesday
Local, state and federal authorities had expanded their search two miles beyond the park’s boundaries, city police said. Hundreds of investigators, analysts and others have joined in the search for the boy in about 250 acres of the park area
On Tuesday, Maddox’s mother, Carrie, made an emotional please for the public’s help in locating her child.
She asked anyone who was at the park on Saturday to call the police tip line.
‘Continue praying for him because I just want my baby home, please,’ she said. ‘Whatever you can do. Maddox is my whole world, and my reason for living. He’s momma’s boy.’
‘I want my baby back in my arms,’ Carrie Ritch added.
Maddox Ritch, six, disappeared on Saturday at a park in North Carolina with his father
The boy was running near a lake at the park when his father said he lost sight of Maddox
Drone photos from Gaston County Emergency Management Services in the search for Maddox Ritch, 6, at Rankin Lake Park in Gastonia
Maddox is described as four feet tall with blond hair and blue eyes.
He was last seen wearing an orange T-shirt with the words ‘I am the man’ and black shorts. His parents said he is autistic and has limited verbal skills.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which is also assisting in the search, said in a statement that he may be in need of medical attention.
The six-year-old boy is autistic and has limited verbal skills, his parents said
Ian Ritch (pictured with Maddox) said he chased after his son but lost sight of him and he didn’t know which way the boy ran
Maddox was last seen running by a lake at Rankin Lake Park in Gastonia by his father (pictured)
Ian said park rangers helped him look for Maddox before calling police. The FBI have since joined the search and authorities have been going door-to-door at businesses along Highway 321 near the park searching for possible information.
Investigators are also working to obtain surveillance footage from different business that could tell them where Maddox went. A reward of $10,000 is being offered for any information that helps police find Maddox.
FBI Special Agent Jason Kaplan said: ‘We’re going to explore all possibilities, including abduction.
Local authorities and the FBI are conducting a massive search across the state
Authorities have been searching for Maddox for the past three days
‘But we’re also going to make sure we search every inch of land around here to make sure he’s not simply lost.’
According to Gastonia Police department in addition to the FBI, at least 24 local and state law enforcement agencies and more than 100 volunteers are assisting the search.
Officers have so far searched the lake and reviewed the park’s surveillance footage, as well as interviewing residents and people who were in the park at the time.
The FBI is offering a $10,000 reward for information that leads to the discovery of Maddox. Thousands of acres have been searched by foot, ATVs and boat
Gastonia Police Chief Robert Helton said: ‘If you were at Rankin Lake Park on Saturday and saw Maddox or took video or photos of their outing at the park, call us.
‘It’s been nearly 75 agonizing hours since six-year-old Maddox Ritch disappeared,’ Helton said Tuesday. ‘We do not want another hour to pass without finding this child and bringing him home. All the help has been humbling.
‘We know a lot of people were in the park and we have spoken to many of them, but we have not spoken to everyone.
‘No piece of information is too small. Something you may think is insignificant could be helpful to our case,’ he added.
Anyone with information is asked to call the police department’s special tip line at 704-869-1075.