The Federal Bureau of Investigation is assisting the Gastonia Police Department to find six-year-old Maddox Scott Ritch. He was reported missing on September 22, 2018, from the Rankin Lake Park located in Gastonia, North Carolina–he was with his family. Maddox is 4’0″ tall, and weighs 45 pounds. He has blue eyes and blond hair. He was last seen wearing an orange T-shirt with the words “I am the man” on the front and black shorts. Maddox is autistic and does not talk.
More than two dozen local, state, and federal agencies are assisting the Gastonia Police Department with investigative and search and rescue resources. Those resources include the FBI’s Child Abduction Rapid Deployment (CARD) team. The CARD team consists of a group of highly trained and experienced subject-matter experts in missing children investigations. They deploy all over the country when a child is reported missing.
Anyone with information is asked to call a special tip line to the Gastonia Police Department, the number is 704-869-1075.
