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3 Missing Mich. Boys Feared To Be In Danger - UPDATES
Young brothers were left in the care of a woman their dad had met on the Internet
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3 Missing Mich. Boys Feared To Be In Danger

Young brothers were left in the care of a woman their dad had met on the Internet

by The Associated Press

National Public Radio - NPR.org

November 28, 2010

MORENCI, Mich.

Police were searching Sunday for three young brothers who haven't been seen since their father tried to hang himself, and investigators unraveling the man's strange story fear the boys are in grave danger.
These undated photoes provided by The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children show
the Skelton brothers, Tanner, 5, Alexander, 7, and Andrew, 9, who police in Morenci, Mich.,
say were given by their father to a woman he met over the Internet. Police were told that he
asked the woman to return the boys to their mother. The woman is believed to be driving
a silver van. Morenci is 75 miles southwest of Detroit and just north of the Ohio state line.

 
At the heart of the investigation is a perplexing account by the father, 39-year-old John Skelton, who told investigators he'd left the boys in the care of a woman with whom he had an online relationship. Yet by late Saturday, officers had no luck finding the woman.

Skelton was being treated at a hospital in Ohio for "mental health issues" on Saturday, one day after he tried to kill himself, said Morenci Police Chief Larry Weeks. Morenci is about 75 miles southwest of Detroit and just north of the Ohio state line.

Skelton told investigators Friday that he didn't want the boys in his house when he committed suicide, so he asked a woman named Joann Taylor to take them to their mother, who is separated from Skelton. Weeks said Saturday that officers haven't been able to confirm that Taylor exists.

An Amber Alert was issued Friday for Skelton's sons: 9-year-old Andrew, 7-year-old Alexander and 5-year-old Tanner.

When asked if Skelton was a suspect in the boys' disappearance, Weeks said: "We haven't ruled anything out, yet."

Skelton said he met Taylor several years ago and that the two had been involved in an online relationship. She was believed to live in Jackson or Hillsdale counties in southern Michigan.

But officers Saturday had no success tracking down a woman by that name or the silver van Skelton said she was driving.

"The bulk of our action has been putting together a timeline and trying to locate this Joann Taylor," said Weeks, whose agency was joined in the search by Michigan State Police and the FBI.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=131638478

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The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children:

http://www.MissingKids.com

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EDITOR'S NOTE: Here is an UPDATE:

Search area for boys tightens; chief says father lied about woman

Grandmother of missing Morenci boys makes plea for their return

by Mike Wilkinson

The Detroit News

November 29, 2010

Morenci — Authorities have turned their attention to northern Ohio as they continue the frantic search for three young boys whose father attempted suicide after they were last seen on Thursday.

Morenci Police Chief Larry Weeks said today a task force of local, state and federal law enforcement officials has developed evidence that John Skelton, 39, of Morenci, may have driven the boys — 9-year-old Andrew, 7-year-old Alexander and 5-year-old Tanner Skelton — to the area of Holiday City/West Unity, Ohio, between 2:30 p.m. Thursday and 1:30 p.m. Friday, when they were reported missing.

Search parties are now looking along a swath of land that straddles the Ohio Turnpike in Williams County. Weeks said evidence shows John Skelton's blue 2000 Dodge Caravan may have been in that area between 4 a.m. and 7 a.m. Friday.

"We've collected information from a number of sources," he said.

Police are asking for any information from anyone who may have seen the blue Caravan with Michigan license number 9JQ H93. Tips can be phoned in to (517) 458-7104.

Weeks also definitively ruled out any connection between John Skelton and a Joann Taylor, whom he said he gave the children to on Friday just prior to his hanging attempt — Weeks confirmed the story about giving the children away as a lie. John Skelton fractured his ankle but survived the suicide attempt; he's now in a secured mental health facility in Ohio, Weeks said.

"We have been able to eliminate the reported established relationship between Joann Taylor and Mr. Skelton based on recent information we've gathered from a number of sources," Weeks said.

John Skelton has continued to talk with authorities, though they have declined to say what information he has provided.

"We're talking with him," said Andrew Arena, the special agent in charge for the FBI office in Detroit.

John Skelton has told authorities that he gave the children to Taylor to take to their mother, Tanya Skelton, of Morenci. When they didn't arrive, the search began. The couple is married but going through divorce proceedings.

John Skelton said he had met Taylor years ago when he stopped to help after Taylor and her husband's vehicle had broken down on the side of the road and said he stayed in touch with her via the Internet.

Hundreds of volunteers waited for several hours this morning for a search assignment. It wasn't until about 10:30 a.m. that they were dispatched to the Pioneer, Ohio, area.

Morenci schools Superintendent Michael Osborne said this morning that he's fielded questions from students about the three boys' disappearance.

He said he considered closing school today but decided to stay open to provide a sense of normalcy. Counselors were on hand to talk with students and staff.

"We are trying to prepare for the different scenarios, hoping the kids will be found," Osborne. "They are talking about it.

"They seem very concerned. It's on their minds and they need to talk about it."

The grandmother of the three missing boys this morning said she believed they were still alive and made an emotional plea for their safe return. Roxann Skelton appeared on "Good Morning America" asking the woman to drop off the children with authorities or at a restaurant with a note to call for help.

"She needs to put herself in the mother's position," Roxann Skelton, who lives in Florida, said today on the ABC morning news show. "Then she would know the pain and hurt the family is going through."

Hundreds of volunteers and FBI investigators have searched areas of Michigan and Ohio for the boys over the weekend. A vigil was held Sunday night at Morenci United Methodist Church. John Skelton has remained in a mental health facility.

John Skelton's mother also said on the show today that she doesn't care what the name of the woman is or who her son has claimed to have given the boys. She just wants to see them home.

"Whether her name is Joann Taylor or Mary Poppins. It doesn't matter to me. All I know is these children are with her," Roxann Skelton said. "Those boys are out there. Terrified. But they are out there."

Roxann Skelton wouldn't comment on any conversations she had with her son during her appearance on the show. She told The News on Sunday that she remains hopeful.

"My heart tells me they're OK," she said.

http://www.detnews.com/article/20101129/METRO/11290353/1361/Grandmother-of-missing-Morenci-boys-makes-plea-for-their-return