Autistic Boy Still Missing in North Carolina, Mother Pleads for Help

Three days after a 6-year-old autistic boy went missing from a North Carolina park, the mother has pleaded to the public for help to find her little boy.

Carrie Ritch, mother of the autistic boy, urged the public during a press conference on Sept. 25 to call the tip line if they saw her son, Maddox Scott Ritch, at Rankin Lake Park in Gastonia on Sept. 22.

“Continue praying for him,” Carrie pleaded. “I just want my baby home, please. Whatever you can do.”

Maddox was last reported to have been wearing an orange t-shirt with the words “I am the man” on the front and black shorts with a white stripe.

Maddox wore a similar orange shirt and the exact shoes in this photo. (Federal Bureau of Investigation)

The FBI has offered $10,000 for any information that leads directly to the location of Maddox. He is described as being non-verbal.

The police said authorities at the local, state, and federal level have already searched a two miles radius around the park. Joining the authorities are hundreds of investigators, analysts, and others who are continuing to search the 250-acre park, Fox 13 reported.

To lure out the young boy, the police recorded spoken messages by his parents and blasted them all over the park.

“If he’s lost in the woods, he‘ll be able to hear those messages played,” FBI supervisory special agent Jason Kaplan told reporters. “And we’re hoping that he’ll come to the words of his mother and his father.”

Since the search is beginning to expand beyond the park, the authorities have deployed drones and ground teams with canines. They have also expanded their search capabilities by using sonar and infrared technology.

Just in case young Maddox is concealed in water, Gastonia Police Chief Robert Helton said authorities are draining water from the lake in the park to expose the shoreline for examination.

“We want to make sure that we’re checking every possible spot to find this child,” Helton said.

Officials said that they wanted to speak with a professional photographer that was taking photos of children in Dr. Seuss costumes the day Maddox went missing. Authorities are hoping that he may have captured some needed clues.

They also want to talk to a jogger who was present when Maddox, his father, Ian Ritch, and the father’s friend were going around the lake, reported WSOCTV.

When the jogger passed by, Maddox took off and ran behind them, Ian told people.com.

Ian said that it was common for him to let Maddox to leave his side and run around for fun.

“Usually when he takes off running he’ll slow down and stop for me to catch up with him,” Ian said.

“This time he never stopped,” Ian said.

Ian told people.com that Maddox had run out of sight. “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. I tried to find him. I don’t know where he went.”

The grieving father told people.com that he was overwhelmed with guilt and wished he had done things differently.

“Every time it gets dark at night, I burst into tears because I’m thinking, ‘My little boy is out there alone,’” the 42-year-old father said. “The longer [the search is] going, the harder it gets because I’m so worried. He hasn’t had anything to eat or drink.”

Contact the Gastonia Police Department for any tips at [phone], your local FBI office, or the nearest American Embassy or Consulate.

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