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Sunday, January 30, 2011

Missing Michigan boys: Father claims in court he "can't" give three sons to their mother (Jan. 28, 2011)

www.mlive.com/

A man charged with parental kidnapping after his three boys went missing on Thanksgiving told a judge Friday (Jan. 28) that he wasn't able to turn over the children.

John Skelton, appearing during a brief divorce hearing, answered "I can't" when the judge asked whether he was prepared to give the children to their mother.
Skelton has made claims that he gave the boys to someone in a van from an organization that he wouldn't identify. Investigators have said he earlier made false claims about turning his sons over to another woman.
He is being held on a $30 million bond on the kidnapping charges.
His sons Andrew, 9, Alexander, 7, and Tanner, 5, were last seen playing on Thanksgiving (Nov. 26) in their father's backyard in Morenci, a town about 70 miles southwest of Detroit near Michigan's border with Ohio.
Skelton's estranged wife, Tanya Skelton, reported her sons missing the next day after he didn't return them to her from a court-ordered visitation.
The two are divorcing, and she had custody of the boys but had agreed to let them visit with their father on Thanksgiving.
Authorities and volunteers spent a week searching through fields, vacant homes, and ponds for the boys in both Ohio and Michigan. The police chief leading the effort later said he didn't expect a positive outcome.
Police have said they've followed up on 900 tips, including some suspected sightings, but none of them led authorities to believe the boys are still alive.

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