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At least two dozen law enforcement agencies are looking for a six-year-old boy who disappeared Saturday in a park in North Carolina with his father.
Authorities say Maddox Ritch, who is autistic and nonverbal, was walking with his father and another adult in Gastonia Park in Rankin Lake around 1:30 pm. when he took off, according to WSOC. His father lost sight of him and the boy has not been seen since.
"They were walking around the lake," said Rachel Bagley, spokeswoman for Gastonia. "They went around the back of the lake. He started running, according to parents. When they started running after him, they lost sight of him. "
FBI officials in Charlotte also joined the search, and an agent, Jason Kaplan, said at a weekend press conference that officials were trying to determine whether Ritch had been kidnapped or not. simply lost.
"If you were in Rankin Lake Park on Saturday and you saw Maddox or took videos or pictures of their outing to the park, call us," Gastonia Police Chief Robert Helton told reporters. 39, a press conference Sunday.
"We know a lot of people were in the park and we talked to a lot of them, but we did not talk to everyone. No information is too small. Something you might think is insignificant could be helpful to our case. "
Ritch was 4 feet tall and was last seen with an orange t-shirt that said "I'm the man" with black shorts. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children also helps with research, and officials wrote on the site that Ritch may need medical attention.
Ritch's father did not immediately respond to a request for comment from PEOPLE.
Research teams even searched the lake for the boy, and the FBI Kidnapping Fast Deployment Team arrived at the scene on Sunday. Gaston Gazette.
"Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for children with special needs, an autistic boy or an autistic girl to get lost or disappear. So it's something we're dealing with unfortunately with some frequency for the FBI to have special resources. says, according to the gazette.
"We deal with local resources, sometimes we talk to specialists and usually the family is part of this resource, and the most useful because it allows us to know what the child can answer."
The authorities urged anyone with information to call the police line at 704-869-1075.
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