Neighbors of three Michigan boys who were last seen the day before their father tried to commit suicide are holding onto hope that the children will be found safe, even though investigators believe the boys are in “extreme danger.
Police in Morenci, about 75 miles southwest of Detroit, plan to resume their search Monday for 5-year-old Tanner, 7-year-old Alexander and 9-year-old Andrew Skelton. A prayer vigil was held for the boys Sunday night after the FBI, police and numerous volunteers scoured fields, farmland and wooded areas near the Ohio-Michigan border.
Police have now ruled out a connection between Skelton and a woman of that name.
Skelton had claimed that Taylor agreed to take the boys home to their mother, Tanya Skelton, so that they would not witness his attempt to hang himself. The boys were reported missing Friday by Tanya Skelton (the couple are separated).
Authorities now believe that Skelton, 39, may have driven his sons to an area in Ohio between 2:30 p.m. Thursday and 1:30 p.m. Friday, when they were reported missing, Weeks said.
Volunteers have been searching around Morenci, about 75 miles southwest of Detroit, for days. Monday morning, they checked fields, farms and wooded areas along the state boundary based on “information we’ve collected from a number of sources,” Weeks said.
Police have searched Skelton’s Morenci home and removed items but declined to identify them.
Weeks said Skelton was being treated at a hospital in Ohio for “mental health issues” after he told police that he tried to hang himself on Friday.
The boys were reported missing Friday by their mother, Tanya Skelton, Weeks said. A family friend said the boys were with their father as part of court-ordered visitation and their parents were going through a divorce.
About 200 people gathered Sunday evening for a prayer vigil at Tanya Skelton’s church in Morenci, a small, mostly blue-collar and farming community. Lights were strung on poles along the town’s main street, and festive decorations adorned windows in some of the shops and eateries in town.
Friends said the Skelton boys had started celebrating the holidays early by making greeting cards. One of the older brothers wrote “Jesus is awesome” on his and drew a Nativity scene, family spokeswoman Kathye Herrera said.
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