Body Believed to Be Missing Autistic Boy Maddox Ritch Found, FBI Says

A body that is believed to be of missing 6-year-old Maddox Ritch, who went missing days ago and sparked a widespread search and rescue effort, was found on Sept. 27.

The FBI said that the boy’s body was discovered in Gastonia, North Carolina.

“With heavy hearts we announce a body believed to be 6-year-old Maddox Ritch was found at approximately 1 p.m. off of Marietta Street/Old Dallas Highway in Gastonia. Maddox’s parents have been notified of the discovery. The investigation is ongoing,” the FBI Charlotte office said on Twitter.

The FBI had announced a $10,000 reward for any information leading to a break in the case.

His mother, Carrie, said that Maddox is autistic and cannot speak.

She said the boy “is my whole world and my reason for living. He’s momma’s boy.” She continued: “Maddox loves the park. He loves Bouncy Balls and he loves his teddy bear.” Describing her son, she said, “his smile is so contagious and his laughter is so precious,” CNN reported.

Maddox Ritch went missing in a park North Carolina on Saturday, Sept. 22, 2018. FBI handout

Details of the Case

His father, Ian Ritch, told People magazine that the past few days have been “hell for me.”

“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 said, according to the publication.

Maddox was last seen with his father in the park. According to Fox46, he took the boy to Rankin Lake Park near Gastonia. The report said that Maddox took off running after a jogger in the park and his father lost sight of him.

An AMBER Alert was not issued for the boy.

In reports on Sept. 27, before the body was found, a 911 caller, Rick Foxx, who works at Rankin Lake Park, said that he doesn’t think the boy was ever at the park.

“It didn’t look as though, they were that concerned,” Foxx said of the boy’s father, CBS News reported. “I’ve worked there almost three years and we see everybody come in and out of that park pretty much. I didn’t see that kid one time.”

However, Foxx told WSOC that Maddox’s “dad approached me and said he lost his kid.”

He then told the station: “I said, ‘When is the last time you seen him?’ He said that the kids, they were coming around the track, and the kid got away from him.” He also said that Ian Ritch appeared out of breath and tired.

“The mother was really frantic. She was hysterical,” Foxx added. “She got out of the car, and one of the sheriff’s deputies had to calm her. I pray and hope they find that kid alive, I really do. I really hope so,” Foxx told the outlet.

The FBI said that it had evidence that Maddox was at the park when he disappeared on Sept. 22. Ritch also told CBS News that he took several polygraph tests, but the FBI did not reveal what the results were.