North Carolina boy of 6 years, autistic and dumb, mysteriously vanishes, the FBI joins an urgent search

A statewide hunt for a missing six-year-old autistic boy will now be assisted by the FBI.

Maddox Ritch, six, was at the park with his father on Saturday when he disappeared. Maddox's father stated that he lost sight of his son around 1:30 pm in Gastonia, North Carolina. It has not been seen since. More than 100 volunteers spent the weekend looking for Maddox, who lives with autism and is described as non-speaking.

Gastonia spokeswoman Rachel Bagley told WSOC that father and son were walking in Rankin Park when Maddox disappeared. "They moved to the back of the lake," Bagley said. "According to the parents, he started running and when they started running after him, they lost sight of him and no one has seen him since."

Maddox Ritch, six, disappeared Saturday in Gastonia, North Carolina. Gastonia / Facebook Police Department

FBI Charlotte announced on Twitter that she would join "more than two dozen agencies" to help find Maddox. "We will explore all possibilities, including kidnapping," said FBI Special Agent, JAson Kaplan, according to ABC News. "But we're also going to make sure we're looking for every inch of dirt around here to make sure it's not just lost."

Maddox was last seen wearing an orange T-shirt with "I am the man" printed on the front and black shorts. He is about four feet tall and has blond hair and blue eyes.

Gastonia Police Chief Robert Helton held a press conference Sunday afternoon and called on anyone to provide information. "If you were in Rankin Lake Park on Saturday and you saw Maddox or took videos or pictures of their trip to the park, call us.

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"We know a lot of people were in the park and we talked a lot about it, but we did not talk to everybody, no information is too small, something you do not think about. important could be helpful for our case "Helton said.

Volunteers and officials combed over 1,400 acres of land around Rankin Lake Park over the past two days. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department sent a helicopter Sunday night for an aerial view. He managed to do a short search during the day before switching to infrared. The park has been closed to the public indefinitely.

The Gastonia Police Service regularly shares updates on its Facebook page.

Anyone with information should immediately call those responsible at 704-869-1075.