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Research continues for a 6-year-old autistic child who disappeared from a Gastonia Park on Saturday, law enforcement officials said Monday.
The search zone widened by two miles Monday, and officials used dogs, all-terrain vehicles and a drone to spot the last place Maddox Ritch was seen, according to a police press release. Gastonia.
Maddox has special needs and does not speak, officials said. He was blond and blue-eyed and wore an orange t-shirt that said "I am the man", black shorts with white stripes and closed-toed sandals, according to the FBI. poster of the missing person.
He was visiting Rankin Lake Park on Saturday when he was missing, and officials are searching the lake itself as well as the surrounding area. They plan to evacuate water from the lake to expose the shoreline, the observer the news partner WBTV reported. The dogs will re-examine the drained area.
Members of the Gastonia SWAT team have examined dozens of rubbish bins by hand, police said, and officials went to private businesses over the weekend to find out if they had any of them. 39, a useful surveillance video.
Maddox's parents recorded audio messages for him, WBTV reported, and messages are played during the search in case Maddox hears them.
Authorities will not identify Maddox's parents or describe their relationship, WBTV reported. Both parents were cooperative, officials said. The child would have visited the park with his father and another adult, who was not identified.
Asked whether Maddox's father is a suspect, Gastonia's police chief said the officials were looking at all possibilities, Reported WCCB .
The agencies involved in the research are trying to talk to each person who visited the park on Saturday, according to Monday's press release. They can call the hotline at 704-869-1075.
On Monday night, Gastonia police announced that investigators had contacted the Missing Persons Center in North Carolina, which issues Amber Alerts for missing children.
Based on the investigation so far, the Maddox case does not meet the criteria for an Amber alert, Gastonia police said. According to the North Carolina Center for Missing Persons, alerts are not issued for children who have fled or for children suspected of being with a parent, except in case of danger.
Jane Wester: 704-358-5128, @janewester
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