Amber Alert issued for 3 boys believed to be in danger (Michigan)

[Kadie]

Amber Alert issued for 3 boys believed to be in danger

Trio last seen with woman their dad met over the Internet

By ANDREA K. FARMER AND GINA DAMRON
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS


An Amber Alert has been issued for three young boys in Lenawee County who are believed to be in extreme danger.

Andrew Ryan Skelton, 9, Alexander William Skelton, 7, and Tanner Lucas Skelton, 5, were reportedly last seen Friday at 2:30 p.m. with Joann Taylor, a woman whom their father, John Skelton, met on the Internet.

The suspect was to return the children to their mother, but the children have been missing since. Taylor is believed to be a resident of either Jackson County or Hillsdale County and drives a silver van.

Police say the father of the three boys has been hospitalized following a suicide attempt.

The missing children are all described as white males. Andrew is 4-ft. 1-in. tall, weighs 57-lbs. and has brown eyes and hair; Alexander is 3-ft. 9-in. tall, weighs 45-lbs., has brown eyes and hair and has a scar at his hairline and on his chin; Tanner is 3-ft. 6-in. tall with blue eyes and blond hair.

(pictures at link)
Read more: http://www.freep.com/article/20101127/NEWS06/101127005/Amber-Alert-issued-for-3-boys-believed-to-be-in-danger#ixzz16W3y8RH2


another link...

http://www.woio.com/Global/story.asp?S=13574023

[hlthe2b]

1. Horrific, but you really should indicate what locale this is...

Most of us don't know where Lenawee County is, after all.

I hope for the best for these boys.

[Kadie]

2. Michigan

Sorry, I didn't even realize the article didn't state that info.

another link...
http://www.woio.com/Global/story.asp?S=13574023

I will fix OP.

Thanks.

[Barack_America]

3. Lenawee County, SE Michigan. Near the Ohio border.

Suspect believed to live in either Jackson or Hillsdale County, also in Southeastern Michigan, and drives a silver van.

[Motown_Johnny]

29. almost right on the Ohio boarder

saw it on the local news about 10 minutes ago

[EFerrari]

4. It's Michigan.

[auntAgonist]

19. The alert is still active. *kick*

[alphafemale]

5. kick

[auntAgonist]

6. Thanks. I posted in the MI Forum this morning. Needs more coverage.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=159x14812
-------------------------------

http://www.amberalert.com/alerts/cd3aa8a6caab3384274bfe... /


Story here;
http://www.mlive.com/news/jackson/index.ssf/2010/11/pol...

Police are looking for three boys who are missing out of Lenawee County.

Andrew Ryan Skelton, 9; Alexander William Skelton, 7; and Tanner Lucas Skelton, 5, were reported missing by their father early Friday morning, Morenci Police Chief Larry Weeks said.

Weeks said the boys’ father, whose name has not been released, handed his sons over to a woman named Joann Taylor on Thursday night or early Friday morning.

They were last seen at 112 E. Congress St. in Morenci.

The father told police that Taylor is married to a man named Mark Taylor, who is believed to be a pastor in the Hillsdale or Jackson area.

Andrew is 4 feet, 1 inch weighs 45 pounds and has brown hair and brown eyes. Alexander is 3-9, weighs 45 pounds and has brown hair and brown eyes. Tanner is 3-6, weighs 40 pounds and has brown hair and blue eyes.

Police ask anyone with information on the whereabouts of the boys or Joann and Mark Taylor to contact the Morenci Police Department at 517-458-7104 or Lenawee County Dispatch at 517-263-0524.

[lunatica]

14. kick

[blondeatlast]

7. that sounds like a horrible family situation. A woman their dad met on the internet?

Oh, dear.

Prayers for their safe return.

And periodic kicks for visibility.

[auntAgonist]

8. It is a horrible situation for sure ..

keeping it kicked.

[Pool Hall Ace]

13. I don't feel good about dad meeting the woman on the internet, either.

Although I realize it's not always a bad thing, in this case I'm thinking "shades of Zahra Baker."

[bettyellen]

24. except she doesn;t seem to exisit. very sad,

[JI7]

26. the woman doesn't exist ? so maybe dad made that part up ?

after doing something horrible to the boys ? and why there was a suicide attempt by him ?

doesn't sound good at all.

[bettyellen]

27. Dad's story mkes no sense at all. He recruited a stranger to watch his kids while he tried to kill

himself? How in the world does someone arrange that, a sleepover with a total stranger-who police cannot track down at all- because they are concerned about their kids? I can;t say I'm buying it. Because he would have also had the misfortune to find someone who wanted to steal three boys and lie and say she was a local pastors wife.
He had an ex wife nearby. He would have obviously left them with her or friends if he was so caring about their safety. It sounds horribly wrong.

[Little Star]

9. Kick for visibility. n/t

[auntAgonist]

62. kick again.

[blondeatlast]

10. k

[Angry Dragon]

11. kick

[butterfly77]

12. Kick...

[Liberal_in_LA]

16. kick

[GentryDixon]

15. Dreadful.

[Kadie]

17. .

:kick:

[auntAgonist]

18. STILL MISSING. - more questions than answers.

(edited to add link and for copyright purposes-proud patriot Moderator Democratic)


CNN) -- Police and neighbors were searching for three young Michigan boys Saturday who have been missing since their father claimed he dropped them off with a woman before trying to kill himself a day earlier.

The father survived his suicide attempt and is being cared for in a mental health facility, said Morenci, Michigan, Police Chief Larry Weeks on Saturday.

But Michigan authorities do not know what has happened to his boys -- 5-year-old Tanner Skelton, 7-year-old Alexander William Skelton and 9-year-old Andrew Skelton -- prompting them to issue an Amber Alert on Friday.

Weeks said that the boys' father, John Skelton, told police that he dropped the boys off Friday morning with a woman he identified as Joann Taylor -- in part to ensure they didn't see him while and after he tried to commit suicide.

(snip)

The alert notes that Tanner is 3 feet, 6 inches tall, has strawberry blond hair, has blue eyes and weighs about 40 pounds. Alexander is 3 feet, 9 inches tall, has brown hair and eyes, weighs about 45 pounds and has scars on his hairline and chin. The oldest brother, Andrew, is 4 feet, 1 inch tall, has brown hair and eyes and weighs roughly 57 pounds.

(link) http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/11/27/michigan.missing.children/index.html?hpt=T2

[LiberalEsto]

20. Please limit quotes to 3 paragraphs

otherwise DU can get in trouble for violating copyrights.

[auntAgonist]

21. Thanks for the kick . n/t

[auntAgonist]

23. I hope this means you read my post :)

thanks again for the kick.

This is a tragic situation.

aA
kesha

[malaise]

22. Keep kicked n/t

[JI7]

25. Does Dad know more ? the suicide attempt makes me wonder

either he knows something bad HAS happened or that the woman would do something bad.

hope the boys are found alive and well.

also did the mother know the boys would be with that woman ?

[bettyellen]

28. the police are not sure this woman exists, so he found a wannbe kidnapper on the net?

who lied and pretended she was local? It makes no sense at all that he would recruit this person on the net.

[Mz Pip]

30. Or he never

met a woman at all.

[bettyellen]

32. i feel awful for thinking the worst, but his story sounds implausible

[BuelahWitch]

31. Their poor mother!

She must be crazy with worry.

[auntAgonist]

33. She has been with the police constantly trying to find her kids ..

The longer this goes on the more frightening it becomes for those children's safety. It all sounds so fishy. I like to think the best of people but I can't find any 'best' in this ...

it's all too sad.


My prayers are for the safe return of those three boys 9-year-old Andrew, 7-year-old Alexander and 5-year-old Tanner, for their Mother that she has the strength to continue on in these tough days.


aA

[auntAgonist]

34. Police are now saying father lied about relationship w/ woman

he claims to have given the children to.

http://www.mlive.com/news/jackson/index.ssf/2010/11/search_continues_for_three_mis.html

please keep these children in your thoughts today :(

[Kadie]

35. This is a very sad story.

:(

I hope the kids are ok.

Thanks to everyone for keeping this thread kicked.

[auntAgonist]

36. me too Kadie

[blondeatlast]

37. If Ms. Taylor actually exists (and she appears to), I feel sorry for her now.

What a nightmare to be implicated if she's done nothing wrong.

[bettyellen]

38. thay found someone with that name and are certain he fabricated the story

now they are searching posible dump sites. campgrounds he may have gone to, side of the roads he travelled...very sad.

[blondeatlast]

39. I'm gonna hug my son tonight whether he likes it or not!

Well, actually not--I've taught him that he can shun any physical contact even with relatives and he IS 13--but wow, this case is really crawling under my skin.

[JI7]

40. kick

[auntAgonist]

41. kick .. with prayers and heartfelt good wishes for these 3 children.

My heart goes out also to the children's mother. She must be going through hell.

[chatnoir]

42. How horrific....Still missing.... :(

And it seems more and more likely that this father did sth to these poor boys... :(

http://www.freep.com/article/20101130/NEWS06/11300420/1318/Police-discount-dads-account-of-mystery-woman

[auntAgonist]

43. Tuesday Update:

http://www.newser.com/story/106455/dad-may-have-dumped-boys-on-the-road.html

(Newser) – A troubled father fighting for custody of his three young sons may have simply "dumped" them on a cold, lonely stretch of Ohio highway, police believe. Cops, firefighters and volunteers have spent days hunting for Andrew, 9, Alex, 7, and 5-year-old Tanner, who haven't been seen since Thanksgiving. They hope the boys were alive when they were abandoned by their father, John Skelton, and have managed to survive, but hope is fading, and officials have limited children from helping in the search, worried about what they may find, reports the Detroit News.

[blondeatlast]

44. Oh, God, that is just horrible.

Pardon my resorting to faith, but dear God, make these children safe, and if not, let them know they are loved, even if it is by anonymous posters on a messsage board.

Amen.

[auntAgonist]

45. It is not good at all :(

:cry:

[Kadie]

46. .

:cry:

[JI7]

47. kick,

hoping they are alive and found soon.

[JI7]

48. UPDATE : Father has been charged with Kidnapping

Police are saying the search will not have a positive outcome.

keep the boys below in your thoughts

[GreenPartyVoter]

49. Oh, no! :^(

[blondeatlast]

50. Oh, dear God. I so wish I weren't fearing the worst--just look at those faces.

Had he just left them in a public place they'd more than likely be with a family member or friend now.

I'm literally sick to my stomach. Please God, please let tehm be safe.

[auntAgonist]

51. thanks for posting the photos and for the kick. There is still

no news of the boys and the father is now housed in a federal prison in Toledo. He, of course is demanding a lawyer and refusing to talk now.

I have to wonder why they released him from the mental health facility. Why didn't they keep him there? At least there he was talking ...

I'm just sick thinking about those poor children. My heart aches for them and for their mother.

Won't it be wonderful if they are found unharmed? ? ? We can only hope and pray.


aA
kesha

[blondeatlast]

59. If he'd only left them in a public place there'd be so much more hope.

They'd be with relatives or friends and dad might be getting some needed help. This is just awful.

[auntAgonist]

52. latest update Tuesday night ... link

MORENCI, Mich. —

Search crews continued to comb the Michigan and Ohio countryside on Tuesday for signs of Andrew, Alexander and Tanner Skelton, who were reported missing on Friday.

Earlier in the day, Morenci Police Chief Larry Weeks delivered the sobering news that investigators "do not anticipate a positive outcome" in the case. The boys' father, John Skelton, was arrested Tuesday upon being discharged from the mental health facility where he had previously been held, and was taken to the Lucas County Jail.

About 200 volunteers took part in Tuesday’s search, according to Steve Miller of the Morenci Fire Department. Most were taken aboard four school buses to search border areas in Michigan as well as Ohio, including Holiday City and Fayette.

Teams of police and civilians searched “a number of roadsides” between Morenci and Holiday City, Weeks said. He said the scope of the search covered a “significant area, including roadsides and communities.”

http://www.lenconnect.com/topstories/x1316692500/As-rumors-swirl-searchers-continue-their-painstaking-task

[uppityperson]

53. sad sad sad sad sad sad

[auntAgonist]

54. Father of three missing boys waives extradition to Michigan, held on $3 million bond

http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2010/12/father_of_three_missing_boys_f.html

A father charged with kidnapping his three missing boys fought extradition from Ohio back to Michigan on Wednesday as an army of volunteers prepared to trudge through fields, woodlands and dirt roads to search for the brothers who have not been seen since Thanksgiving.

John Skelton, a 39-year-old unemployed long-haul truck driver, sat throughout the court hearing in Toledo, Ohio, in a wheelchair covered by a green blanket, answering the judge's yes-or-no questions in a whisper. His attorney told the judge his client would fight his return to Michigan.

Skelton was arrested Tuesday on three counts of parental kidnapping, and so far, police say, the boys' father hasn't told authorities much that they can use as the search for the boys darkened. After Skelton waived extradition, the judge in Ohio set bond at $3 million and scheduled another hearing for Dec. 14.

"He's been forthcoming with some information, the credibility of which we can't verify," Morenci Police Chief Larry Weeks said Tuesday.

[JI7]

56. i am disgusted with this guy, he only cares about himself

i don't think he regrets anything bad he may have done to the boys. he is just worried about saving his own ass. i also don't think he intended to go through with the suicide attempts.

[blondeatlast]

57. Has he been interviewed? He certainly appears to be a male Susan Smith

from what I've seen.

[JI7]

58. one comparison was to the Casey Anthony case

they are trying to ask him info on the boys but they say whatever he gives has been questionable and now he is focusing on getting himself a lawyer and doing anything else to protect himelf.

[malaise]

63. Same here

I think you're right

[auntAgonist]

60. I think I agree with you on all counts.

prayers continued for the children.

[JI7]

55. Reward has been offered for info on the boys , and Fund has been set up to help family with expenses

there has been a 10 thousand dollar reward by some anonymous person for info on the missing boys.

a fund has been set up to help the family deal with any expenses.

A fund has been set up at United Bank and Trust to help the family of Andrew, Alexander and Tanner Skelton with whatever needs arise during or after the search for the missing boys.

People wishing to donate can go to any United Bank and Trust branch. A list of branch locations can be found here.(click link below for link to this list)

Donations can also be mailed to United Bank and Trust, 1050 E. Main St., Morenci, MI 49256. Checks can be made out to United Bank and Trust, and donors should note on both the envelope and the check's memo line that the check is intended for the Skelton family fund.

http://www.lenconnect.com/skelton/x1145369162/Fund-established-to-help-family-of-missing-boys-with-expenses

[auntAgonist]

61. the family agreed with authorities’ decision to scale back the searches beginning this weekend.

http://www.lenconnect.com/topstories/x1996683089/Boys-family-agrees-with-winding-down-searches

MORENCI, Mich. —

Dive teams methodically checked ponds and lakes in Williams County, Ohio, Thursday as other searchers concentrated on a 300-acre wooded parcel and roadsides in the ongoing search for three young Morenci brothers who have been missing since last Friday.

Meanwhile, at a morning news conference, a spokeswoman for Andrew, Alexander and Tanner Skelton’s mother, Tanya, said the family agreed with authorities’ decision to scale back the searches beginning this weekend.

“We support their decision to stop the organized search for the weekend to give volunteers the time to recuperate as well as time to spend with their own families,” Kathye Herrera said, reading from a prepared statement. “It will give the police a chance to reflect and refocus and decide what the next steps will be for everyone. We would not want a tragedy because volunteers are too tired, so please take this time and relax.”