Witnesses Still Needed After Body Found in Maddox Ritch Case: Police

Police in Gastonia, North Carolina, said they are looking for more potential witnesses after a body was found in the search of 6-year-old Maddox Ritch, who went missing over the weekend.

“We are heartbroken over the news of Maddox. The investigation continues,” Gastonia Police said via Twitter on Sept. 28. “That being said we cannot discuss the details of the investigation. However, we continue to ask those who may have been at the park on that day to please contact the Gastonia Police Department.”

The body of Maddox Ritch was found in Gastonia, North Carolina. FBI

Searchers found what they believe is the body of Maddox partially submerged in a creek in Gastonia, the Charlotte Observer reported. Maddox’s father, who said he was with Maddox when he disappeared at Rankin Lake Park, said the boy ran after a jogger and he couldn’t keep up.

Reports said the boy was autistic and couldn’t speak. Hundreds of people were involved in the search and rescue effort for the boy, which drew national headlines.

An official told the Observer that authorities are waiting for a death report from the medical examiner’s office to determine the identity of the body that was discovered.

In a press conference on Sept. 27, FBI official Jason Kaplan said that the investigation isn’t over. “We still want to hear from the people in the park that day,” Kaplan said, adding that the agency will now try to determine whether the death was an accident or if a crime was carried out.

The FBI Charlotte office said on Sept. 27 that the body was discovered off Marietta Street and Old Dallas Highway, adding that “Maddox’s parents have been notified of the discovery.” In a later press conference, the officials said that the body was found partially submerged in a creek.

According to CBS17, officials are trying to locate a man in a white truck who might have been the last person to have seen Maddox.

Maddox’s parents made emotional pleas to find the boy after he went missing.

“I want my baby back in my arms,” mother Carrie Ritch said. “It’s torture. I just want my little boy back home,” father Ian Ritch added, according to CBS17.

On the night of Sept. 27, after news that the body was found, Ian Ritch expressed grief while thanking investigators.

“Today I found out I’m not a dad anymore,” he wrote in a Facebook post. “I would give anything to go back and save him.”

He also wrote: “While a lot of people don’t believe anything I have said in the past, believe this. From this moment on for the rest of my life, I will live with the guilt of not being there to save my son.”

Ritch continued: “So when everyone else gets to go back to their normal lives remember that I will never be the same man again. I will now and forever be a broken man until I take my last breath.”