The father of 6-year-old Maddox Ritch took to social media Thursday to mourn his son’s death and to ask for time to heal.
On his Facebook page, Ian Scott Ritch, 42, recalled the mix of emotions he experienced during and following his son’s disappearance and confirmed death. Ritch wrote that he “wasn’t so worried” Saturday because he thought his son wasn’t far away. The father by Sunday he became concerned.
“I wanted us to go fishing play ball go camping. I wanted to be his heroe. I wanted him to say i was more than superman or batman to him. I wanted people to ask him who his heroe is and him say my daddy. Now im no heroe i couldnt save him or protect him at all.”
As CrimeOnline previously reported, 6-year-old Maddox, who was autistic and non-verbal, vanished Saturday afternoon while at Rankin Lake Park with his father. On Thursday, his body was found partially underwater in a creek a mile away from where he was last seen.
Officials said Thursday that it’s unclear how Maddox ended up a mile away from the park, how he died, and if foul play was involved, according to ABC News.
The grieving father also wrote that he’ll “forever be a broken man” and asked the public—some of whom have accused him of causing Maddox’s death—to give him some time to get himself together.
He concluded, “Just please hug ur children tighter and please dont make my mistake and let them get too far away from u. Do everything u can with ur children because i wont get the chance to do anything with mine.”
First i want to say thank u from the bottom of my heart to everyone who took part in searching for my sweet lil buddy. I…
Posted by Ian Scott Ritch on Thursday, September 27, 2018
[Featured Image: Maddox Ritch, Ian Scott Ritch/Facebook]
