6 year old missing in Gaston County. (1 Viewer)

[msr]

Search continues for missing NC boy


Father of missing boy Maddox Ritch 'started panicking' after he got out of sight originally appeared on abcnews.go.com

Ian Ritch says he and his son often go for walks in North Carolina's Rankin Lake Park like they did Saturday. Maddox, 6, will regularly run ahead of his father, then slow down and wait for him to catch up.

But on Saturday, the boy, who has autism and is nonverbal, got too far ahead of Ian and hasn't been seen since. Ian says he "started panicking" when his 6-year-old son did not slow down and disappeared from view.

"We were walking on a track around the lake and he decided to take off from me. ... I didn’t think nothing of it and he got a little too far away from me," Ian Ritch told "Good Morning America" in an exclusive interview Wednesday. "As soon as I got to the point where I couldn’t see him anymore, I started panicking. I couldn’t see him anywhere."

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Hundreds of officials from the FBI, Gastonia Police Department, Gastonia Fire Department and other agencies have scoured the park around the clock since he was reported missing Saturday. Tips have flooded the tip line set up to assist in finding the young boy, and authorities continue to interview the hundreds of people who were in the park on a beautiful early fall day.

"After the first day I thought they would have found him," Ian told "GMA."

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"I feel like I should’ve caught him, not let him get too far," Ian said. "That’s what upsets me."

Ian said he continues to be eaten by guilt over letting his son get out of his sight.

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"It's hard to sleep. I feel guilty because I can go to a house and lay down on the bed," Ian said, "and he's out there in the woods sleeping on the ground and that’s very upsetting."

Maddox's mother, Carrie, spoke during an emotional news conference Tuesday afternoon, begging for any tips that might help bring her son home.

"Maddox is my whole world and my reason for living," Carrie Ritch said during the press conference.

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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.

Maddox has blond hair and blue eyes, weighs 45 pounds and is 4 feet tall, police said. He was wearing black shorts, closed-toe sandals and an orange T-shirt that reads "I am the Man" at the time he went missing, according to police.

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[Burnt Öfferings]

I hope they find him, there's Black Bears there.

 

[Cold Ethyl]

I thought they found him

 

[msr]

I thought they found him

When I posted the article they had not, and I just checked the news, nothing there. If he had been found it would be pre-empting everything.
Burnt Offerings
I have never heard of black bears being in that area.
https://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0geKWUMf6tb6uMAYgcPxQt.;_ylu=X3oDMTByOHZyb21tBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDBHNlYwNzcg--/RV=2/RE=1537994637/RO=10/RU=https://www.cityofgastonia.com/rankin-lake-park.html/RK=2/RS=mRbNWqTutdblgtwJAB89Iok6Pzs-

 

[Burnt Öfferings]

Burnt Offerings
I have never heard of black bears being in that area.

Yeah, they've turned up there.

https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/l...ce-with-black-bear-in-gaston-county/480311576

 

[msr]

Yeah, they've turned up there.

https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/l...ce-with-black-bear-in-gaston-county/480311576

Shit. I stand corrected.

 

[Cold Ethyl]

When I posted the article they had not, and I just checked the news, nothing there. If he had been found it would be pre-empting everything.
Burnt Offerings
I have never heard of black bears being in that area.
https://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0geKWUMf6tb6uMAYgcPxQt.;_ylu=X3oDMTByOHZyb21tBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDBHNlYwNzcg--/RV=2/RE=1537994637/RO=10/RU=https://www.cityofgastonia.com/rankin-lake-park.html/RK=2/RS=mRbNWqTutdblgtwJAB89Iok6Pzs-

Maybe I dreamed they found him thought I read they did and when I looked after replying I could t find anything either

 

[msr]

Maybe I dreamed they found him thought I read they did and when I looked after replying I could t find anything either

You can be sure if they find him it will be all over the news.

 

[Cold Ethyl]

Kids been missing 2 days now

 

[snatch]

And that is why you bring a boomerang when walking with your autistic child. You know he is feeding the fish...

 

[McM]

And that is why you bring a boomerang when walking with your autistic child. You know he is feeding the fish...

Or a dog leash.

 

[snatch]

Or a dog leash.

Shock collar?

 

[ASU-85]

To sad that poor kid has Shuffle off this mortal coil .

 

[msr]

Kids been missing 2 days now

The small lake is being drained down. An ever increasing number of cops are searching. He might be there, he might have climbed into someone's truck bed. He may never be found.
.
.
.
Asha Jaquilla Degree

• 

Asha resided with her family in an apartment on Oakcrest Street in Shelby, North Carolina in 2000. She was last seen inside her home at approximately 2:30 a.m. on February 14, 2000. Asha's father went to sleep at that time and told authorities his daughter was asleep in her bed when he checked on her.

Asha shared a room with her older brother, who stated that he heard noises during the early morning hours and assumed his sister was tossing in her sleep. Asha's mother went into her room at approximately 6:30 a.m. to wake her children for school and discovered Asha was not in her bed. The family immediately summoned authorities and an extensive search of the surrounding area was initialized, with no result. Asha has never been heard from again.

Two truck drivers reported seeing her walking south on Highway 18 north of Shelby between 3:30 and 4:15 a.m. Asha was apparently near the intersection of Highway 180 at the time, about a mile from her home. She left the highway at this point and walked off into the darkness. It was the last confirmed sighting of the child.

Asha may have been sighted getting into a distinctive dark green early 1970s model car on the night she was last seen. The vehicle, which had rust around the wheel wells, is thought to have been either a Lincoln Mark IV or a Ford Thunderbird. Photos of similar cars are posted with this case summary.

Investigators believe Asha left her residence of her own accord. She is described as being quiet, shy person and a good student with a happy home life, and her reasons for leaving aren't clear. Asha's basketball team lost a game, their first loss in the season, the day before her disappearance. Her family said she was upset over the loss, but she calmed down within a few hours.

Asha's fourth-grade class at Fallston Elementary School read the book The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman in February 2000. The book centers around the story of a prince and a commoner child who receives lashes on the royal's behalf. The children proceed to run away and the book details their adventures. Both boys return safely to the kingdom at the story's end. It is not known if the book served as a catalyst for Asha's disappearance.

Asha's black book bag and black Tweety Bird purse were missing from her room after her disappearance, along with a pair of blue jeans with a red stripe, black sneakers, a long-sleeved white shirt with purple lettering, a red vest with black trim, black overalls with Tweety Bird on them, and a long-sleeved black and white shirt. All the doors to the house were found locked; Asha kept her house key in the bookbag.

Asha's pencil, marker and Mickey Mouse hair bow were discovered on the ground in the doorway of a tool shed at Turner's Upholstery on Highway 18 on February 17, 2000, three days after her disappearance. Her belongings were found near the stretch of road where Asha was seen walking in the early morning hours of February 14. A search of the area failed to produce additional evidence. The items were discovered more than one mile from Asha's residence.

A contractor uncovered Asha's book bag, which has her name and telephone number written on it, buried off Highway 18 in August 2001, 18 months after she disappeared. The item had been double-wrapped in black plastic trash bags and was found more than 26 miles from her family's home and in a different direction from where she'd been walking. Nearby some animal bones and a pair of men's khaki pants were found.

The bag was sent to a federal laboratory for testing, but, citing the pending investigation, authorities never released the results. Unconfirmed reports state the bag contained Asha's name on a piece of paper, as well as clothing and a pencil case. In October of that year, a plastic trash bag similar to the one Asha's bookbag was wrapped in was found. The bag was sent to a police lab for analysis.

Investigators announced that they considered Asha's disappearance to be a criminal matter and foul play was suspected after the bookbag's discovery. The surrounding area was thoroughly searched afterwards, but additional evidence was reportedly not located. A photo of some of Asha's personal items is posted with this case summary.

 

[snatch]

Last seen with dad...hmm~mm

 

[D.O.A.]

tl;dr

This kid is dead. Ask the father about that.

 

[Cold Ethyl]

tl;dr

This kid is dead. Ask the father about that.

Unfortunately I have to agree

 

[D.O.A.]

Unfortunately I have to agree

Unless the kid sunk like a stone to the bottom of a lake in seconds or some pedo swooped in like an eagle it seems a little too convenient he lost his retard kid in the blink of an eye while he was daydreaming

 

[M.O.DENGLER]

I hope he's fell down a hole or something. Then there's a chance he might be alive.

Fuckin' doubt it though.

 

[Jizdrop1]

His dad will know what realy happened. Same as Madeleine Mccanns dad.