Community Chat

[Rockycoast]

I agree with the others that posted they think the dad is involved in his son's disappearance.  I believe he didn't want to deal with the son's Autism any more, or saw a bleak future with him.  I hope I am wrong. There were 2 adults present.  Let an autistic child be more then an arm's length away from me...that would never happen.

[NicksmomESQ]

  Unfortunately,I’ve heard to many of theses type of stories. Missing wife,missing child.Husband or parents appear devastated.Then bingo they get arrested for doing the unthinkable.

  I pray I'm wrong here,but I have a bad feeling. That poor child!!

[haddon9]

Very strange I sad story!  I hope they find him & he's okay.

When my daughter was five were were at the beach.  She was playing in the sand at the water's edge.  I also had a toddler with me and when I turned for what seemed like a second she was gone!  It took over half and hour to find her up on the beach near the boardwalk and thank goodness she was okay....I got the scare of my life!

Kids can be quick & sudden so who knows what is really going on with this boy?

[seaBreeze]

I am not a body language expert, but "Dad" showed no emotion at all. When my cat went missing for two days, I was hysterical.  

This is his son~!  I fear the worse.

[chrystaltree]

That story is suspicous at best.  What father of a non-verbal 6 year old autistic child would let that child get so far ahead of him that the kid could take off running....so far that the kid out ran two adults?  In what world would that happen?   

[geezo]

I agree with the other posters, this story is almost unbelievable!  I suppose it could happen strange things sometimes do, but 2 adults cannot keep up with a 6yr. old, personally I am not buying it!  Not so sure the Moms distress is genuine either, sad to say but so many things like this seem to happen that it makes one not trust any thing the family says as truth.  Like forgetting a child in the car when it is Hot, they have done that one to death and no way do I believe anyone in their right mind forgets their own child in a car! 

[RedTop]

@geezo,

I agree.   In a situation like this, I would be too emotional to make a statement, and feel any picture of me would clearly show my distress.   

I don’t think I would be meticulously groomed, with a perfectly straight part in my hair, and be able to deliver a statement, granted a bit choked up, with dry eyes.   I would be a basket case and any statements would have to come thru another family member.   

I pray this little boy is alive, and am also praying his family is not involved in his disappearance.    

[mima]

Who for sure was the other adult?  I have read the father and another adult, and I've read parents.  Was the mom there too? 

[Cakers3]

Sounds like a scene from the documentary "MIssing 411".

Poor wee one-he's non-verbal and frightened to the max.

[Mz iMac]

Father's statement this am.....

"Ian Ritch told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Wednesday that he and little Maddox would routinely go for walks in Rankin Lake Park, and that his son, who is nonverbal, would often run ahead of him.

"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," the dad told ABC News. "As soon as I got to the point where I couldn’t see him anymore, I started panicking. I couldn’t see him anywhere."

“People are making it out like I did something to him," he told the magazine. "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."

No mention of another adult or wify.

Full article-->nydailynews.com/news/national/ny-news-maddox-father-panicked-20180926-story.html