Found Deceased NC - Maddox Ritch, 6 w/Autism, Gastonia, 22 Sept 2018 #3

I have to confess that I have strayed....I sought out information on FB. Yikes, there is so much dissention and just false accusations flying around there in all the groups pertaining to Maddox.
THANK YOU Websleuths admins. for keeping the integrity of this forum. I am proud to be here...
 
Still no cod ?
No official statement about what exactly happened.
Did Maddox drown ? Or not ?
It's so suspicious and odd.
The silence of LE about this case speaks volumes.
They probably know something by now.... but I understand it takes time to build a case.
Rest and fly with the angels, little boy !
 
Thank you so much. It is so helpful seeing the lake. It is much larger than I'd imagined, and more wooded.

If you are not familiar with the lake, the videos are a must watch. The videos made a few things clear to me.
1. It is entirely possible that Maddox could run ahead and quickly get out of sight if the location dad said they where is right.
2. Outside of the immediate lake area is very wooded and a child could very easily get lost if they ventured off the path.

What I still question is,
1. How more people didn’t see him, whether walking around the lake or running alone on the path.
2. If he was simply lost why dogs were not able to pick up on his scent?
3. Did he run off the path? Would a child run into scary woods?
4. Why didn’t helicopter heat sensor pick him up? 5. How did he end up where he did?
<modsnipped>

It is my opinion that if there is no foul play, Maddox would have had to fall in near a somewhat clearing in the deeper part of the creek near the 321 bridge on day 1 and washed to where he was found and he was simply missed by both dogs and searchers. This is possible based on watching the videos.

I still question many things. Especially the story leading up to Maddox disappearing. That however is very different than true foul play.

I am on the fence. I see evidence of either way.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
If you are not familiar with the lake, the videos are a must watch. The videos made a few things clear to me.
1. It is entirely possible that Maddox could run ahead and quickly get out of sight if the location dad said they where is right.
2. Outside of the immediate lake area is very wooded and a child could very easily get lost if they ventured off the path.

What I still question is,
1. How more people didn’t see him, whether walking around the lake or running alone on the path.
2. If he was simply lost why dogs were not able to pick up on his scent?
3. Did he run off the path? Would a child run into scary woods?
4. Why didn’t helicopter heat sensor pick him up? 5. How did he end up where he did?
<modsnipped not victim friendly>


It is my opinion that if there is no foul play, Maddox would have had to fall in near a somewhat clearing in the deeper part of the creek near the 321 bridge on day 1 and washed to where he was found and he was simply missed by both dogs and searchers. This is possible based on watching the videos.

I still question many things. Especially the story leading up to Maddox disappearing. That however is very different than true foul play.

I am on the fence. I see evidence of either way.

Same questions I've been wondering.
Esp. with the SAR dogs-- they were used that same day Maddox went missing--- but no scent was found.
The stories about how Maddox ended up missing had many different versions.
We may never know the truth.
IF Maddox drowned, we'd know this by now.
So it's safe to assume he was deceased prior to possibly being placed in that creek.
 
Wow!

What happened to Maddox Ritch? Still no cause of death nearly a month later

"Police still haven't confirmed whether Maddox's death was an accident or foul play. Investigators told NBC Charlotte a lot hinges on the autopsy report."

I'm worried they found old injuries or signs of abuse and they can't tell if it directly caused his death or if his death was an accident.
 
Same questions I've been wondering.
Esp. with the SAR dogs-- they were used that same day Maddox went missing--- but no scent was found.
The stories about how Maddox ended up missing had many different versions.
We may never know the truth.
IF Maddox drowned, we'd know this by now.
So it's safe to assume he was deceased prior to possibly being placed in that creek.

It breaks my heart. It is bad enough to run away and drown, but to think of someone knowingly harming this poor kid is impossible!
 
Wow!

What happened to Maddox Ritch? Still no cause of death nearly a month later

"Police still haven't confirmed whether Maddox's death was an accident or foul play. Investigators told NBC Charlotte a lot hinges on the autopsy report."

I'm worried they found old injuries or signs of abuse and they can't tell if it directly caused his death or if his death was an accident.
Possible that he was self injurious due to autism. Mine used to slam himself into walls.
 
Wow!

What happened to Maddox Ritch? Still no cause of death nearly a month later

"Police still haven't confirmed whether Maddox's death was an accident or foul play. Investigators told NBC Charlotte a lot hinges on the autopsy report."

I'm worried they found old injuries or signs of abuse and they can't tell if it directly caused his death or if his death was an accident.
Wow! <modsnipped unfounded speculation> I hope LE knows what it's doing by keeping the question of Maddox' death hanging in the air for so long.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Wow! If the ME found old injuries like *for example only* spiral or rib fractures then suspicion falls on both parents. I hope LE knows what it's doing by keeping the question of Maddox' death hanging in the air for so long.

To be fair, or a friend or caretaker or babysitter or neighbor. I would think the ME could determine quite quickly whether or not someone drowned. They do it within days in thousands of cases of accidental drowning. There has to be something "off" for it to take this long.
 
how many days was he missing before he was found? they should be able to find the time of death give or take, by the decomposition of the body. maybe there is a weird timeline of when he died, to how he died, to where he was found.
 
Has anyone found video of the walk from 321 road to area he was found? Where LE parked. I’m wondering how easy access was to the creek from there.
 
Strange. Can anyone cite another case where it took weeks or months to determine COD?

I can't think of any. I recently followed a few cases where the missing person's remains were found weeks after they disappeared and within 2 days LE released COD.

Accidental drowning is such a common cause of death that there would be definitive markers for the ME to check off and make the determination. I have never seen it take this long.
 

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