Andrew, Alexander & Tanner Skelton missing/ John Skelton, Father Of 3 Missing Morenci Boys, Pleads No Contest To Unlawful Imprisonment/ Father of 3 missing Mich. boys gets 10-15 years

by artgal16 Today at 9:45 pm Are they implying that he dumped them on the road alive?

Wondering the same thing.....dumped them on the side of the road in a hurry after he killed them or kicked them out of the car, alive, and sped off leaving the boys out there alone to fend for themselves. LE couldn't have been more vague.

Why isn't she expressing any anger at her son for what he's done, whatever it is? Her grandsons are missing and her heart tells her they're OK.....wonder what her gut tells her?

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.

From The Detroit News: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Court records detail the fierce battle waged for months over custody of three now missing boys and showed this wasn't the first time their father had taken them away.
John R. Skelton, 39, took his sons and announced his intention to move to Jacksonville, Fla., on Sept. 13 — the day his wife filed for divorce, according to documents in Lenawee County Circuit Court.

Those bitter proceedings also show Skelton sought a court order for sole custody of the boys — Tanner, 5, Alexander, 7, and Andrew, 9 — based on the claim that their mother, Tanya Skelton, 44, was unfit because she is on the state's sex offender list. She served a year in prison for an illegal sexual relationship with a 14-year-old boy in 1998.
Still, sole physical custody was granted to Tanya Skelton by Lenawee County Circuit Judge Margaret Noe on Sept. 28, after the judge and Florida authorities forced the father to return two of the children to Michigan.
On Oct. 11, the judge restored John Skelton's parenting time every other weekend and Wednesdays after school. A clause added to the agreement required Skelton to not drink alcohol while with his children.

Skelton and his wife jointly filed for bankruptcy in January 2003 in the Eastern District of Michigan, and the case was discharged in May.
Court records show Skelton, a long-haul truck driver, took their three sons from grade school on Sept. 13 and sent text messages to Tanya Skelton from Ohio requesting their birth certificates. He later turned the children over to police after being called on his cell phone by a Morenci police officer.
Skelton took two of the boys again, but this time to Florida, where Duval County Circuit Judge Karen Cole ordered him on Sept. 20 to drive Andrew and Alexander back to Morenci. The trip was to be taken by the mother and father in separate cars, but within sight of each other the entire time.
Court filings show discrepancies in Skelton's statements to the judge about his wife's behavior. At one time, he said he was unaware of any new criminal sexual behavior by Tanya Skelton. But he later filed a document claiming she was "in violation of sex offense laws." The document does not specify how, and the judge dismissed his motion when ordering the two boys returned from Florida.
The former Tanya Derby had been 31 when she had a sexual relationship with an underage male neighbor — a boy hired by her and her former husband to help maintain rental properties. Her then-husband, Brent Derby, filed for divorce in August 1998 after being told by the couple's two daughters, Brittany, now 23, and Courtney, now 19, about their mother's meetings with the youth.
Prison time for mother
She pleaded guilty to one count of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct and was serving time in Scott Correctional Facility when she and her ex-husband were sued by the youth's parents.
They claimed he had suffered post-traumatic stress and required treatment.
Although Brent Derby claimed he had no knowledge of his wife's affair, the lawsuit was settled when he agreed to pay the youth's family $10,000. His ex-wife also agreed to pay $20,000 to the youth's family. Court records show numerous attempts to garnishee Tanya Derby's wages. She most recently listed herself as an unemployed stay-at-home mother.
The end of his nine-year marriage to Tanya Skelton marked John Skelton's second custody fight with an ex-wife.
When he separated from first wife Michelle Skelton on July 1, 2000, he took sole custody of their daughter, who is now 17. He moved the girl from their home at Travis Air Force Base in Anchorage, Alaska, where he appears to have served in the Air Force, to Morenci.
Five months later, he accused his ex-wife of attempting to take the girl to Massachusetts. But, by February 2001, a judge placed the girl in her mother's custody.
As of January, Skelton was almost $3,500 behind on his child support.

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I just hope against hope that he gave them to someone thinking he could hide them from the Mom. What bothers me is that surely he knew his wife had the sex offender status since he married her, right?
I just hope these babies are with someone, safe and warm.

By COREY WILLIAMS, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 6 mins ago

MORENCI, Mich. – When his wife filed for divorce in September, the father of three Michigan boys who are now missing picked two of them up from school early and drove out of state.

On Sept. 13, John Skelton packed his two oldest sons in the family van and drove to nearby Ohio — only to return and then take off with them again to Florida.
It was the start of a nasty custody battle and possible precursor to all three boys' disappearance last week before their dad's suicide attempt.

Police, the FBI and volunteers have been scouring woods, fields and roadsides around the small southern Michigan community of Morenci and south across the Ohio state line over the past few days. The boys, 9-year-old Andrew, 7-year-old Alexander and 5-year-old Tanner have not been seen since Thanksgiving Day, when they were playing in their father's backyard.

Authorities have said their father, John Skelton, lied to police when he told them from his hospital bed that he gave the boys to an acquaintance to return to their mother. Skelton has been hospitalized since Friday for injuries suffered in the suicide attempt and "mental issues," Morenci Police Chief Larry Weeks said. He has not been ruled out as a suspect, Weeks said.

Search crews will head back out after 8 a.m. Tuesday.

"I think the best way to describe the searches is `just determined,'" Morenci Fire Chief Chad Schisler said.
Searchers and residents of Morenci, about 75 miles southwest of Detroit, continue to hope for a positive ending, Schisler added.

Tanya Skelton reported the boys missing Friday. An Amber Alert was issued that night after John Skelton told police he had tried to hang himself and didn't want the boys at home when he committed suicide.

Lenawee County Circuit Judge Margaret Noe told The Associated Press that Tanya Skelton received exclusive custody after John Skelton returned from Florida with the boys, but the couple subsequently negotiated an agreement that allowed visitation.

"The agreement was without my intervention," Noe said. "It is not unusual for judges to encourage parents to engage in agreements between themselves relative to visitation because they best know the circumstances."

She said the brothers' disappearance was "sad and unfortunate" and declined further comment.

After John Skelton returned the boys from Florida he had been seeing them "with no issues," said Kathye Herrera, who identified herself as a spokeswoman for Tanya Skelton.

Tanya Skelton said in a motion filed the same day as the divorce complaint that John Skelton's work as a truck driver kept him "on the road for weeks at a time." When he is home it's for a maximum of "two to three days at a time," she claimed.

John Skelton filed a motion for custody on Sept. 27, saying his wife was a registered sex offender.
Tanya Skelton, 44, pleaded guilty to fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct in 1998, according to court records. Her misdemeanor plea was part of a plea bargain after she was accused of having sex with a 14-year-old boy who had worked for her and her former husband at rental properties in Morenci. Her divorce attorney, David McFarland, declined to comment.

Herrera said early Monday that Tanya Skelton's conviction was not relevant to the children's disappearance. She did not return a call later Monday after the AP obtained records detailing the complaint.
Sunday night, following a church vigil for the boy's safe return, Herrera had said John Skelton hadn't worked in a while. Tanya Skelton, who described herself in court documents as an at-home mother, attends a local college or community college, Herrera said.

The couple married in 2002 and filed for bankruptcy in 2003. The bankruptcy case was cleared later that year. Tanya Skelton asked for alimony and child support when she filed for divorce.

Both had earlier marriages that ended in divorce.

John Skelton spent time in jail in 2009 for failing to pay child support to his previous wife for their daughter.

Tanya Skelton's former husband filed for divorce shortly after she was charged in the criminal sexual conduct case. They had two daughters.

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Police pessimistic about fate of missing Michigan boys
By the CNN Wire Staff
November 30, 2010 12:35 p.m. EST

(CNN) -- Investigators "do not anticipate a positive outcome" in their search for three missing Michigan boys, a police chief said Tuesday.

The three were reported missing Friday. Their father, John Skelton, said he dropped them off with a woman that morning before he tried to commit suicide.

He said he left them with the woman, whom he identified as Joann Taylor, in part to ensure they did not witness his suicide attempt.

Skelton said Taylor was supposed to take the boys to their home in Morenci, a southern Michigan town of about 2,400 people about 40 miles west-northwest of Toledo, Ohio, Friday afternoon, according to Morenci Police Chief Larry Weeks.

But the boys -- Tanner Skelton, 5, Alexander William Skelton, 7, and Andrew Skelton, 9 -- never arrived.

Police said Monday they had determined that Skelton had no "established relationship" with the person he named as Taylor, and they aren't certain that she even exists.

Authorities are asking for the public's help, hoping that someone saw Skelton's blue 2000 Dodge Caravan, in which he was believed to be carrying the boys from 2:30 p.m. Thursday to 1:30 p.m. Friday somewhere along a 25-mile stretch of road between Morenci and Holiday City, Ohio.

Skelton's suicide attempt was not successful, and authorities say he is being held at a mental health facility. It is not clear whether he could face criminal charges.

Weeks had been more optimistic Monday, saying, "We remain hopeful. "That's why we're doing what we're doing, and hope to bring these boys home."

The last time a non-family member saw the boys was at 5 p.m. on Thursday, according to the chief.

Police say Tanner is 3 feet, 6 inches tall with strawberry blond hair and blue eyes, and weighs about 40 pounds. Alexander is 3 feet, 9 inches tall, has brown hair and eyes, weighs about 45 pounds and has scars on his hairline and chin. The oldest brother, Andrew, is 4 feet, 1 inch tall, has brown hair and eyes and weighs roughly 57 pounds.

Andy Arena, a special agent with the FBI, called Sunday for help from the public. "We need calls. We need tips. Anything that's out there, no matter how incredible you may think it is, call. Let us know," he said.

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Morenci Police Chief Larry Weeks announced Tuesday afternoon that John Skelton was released from a mental health facility in Ohio and taken into custody by agents from the Toledo FBI office.

"Warrants were issued for three counts of parental kidnapping," Weeks said.

John Skelton is the father of nine-year-old Andrew, seven-year-old Alexander and five-year-old Tanner. The boys have not been seen since Thanksgiving Day.

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John Skelton's mother, who lives in the Jacksonville, Fla., area, spoke to Local 4 Tuesday during a telephone interview.
"I thank everyone who is searching today," said Roxann Skelton. "They (volunteers) are in my prayers and so are my grandsons."
When asked if she has talked with her son, Roxann Skelton replied, "I cannot answer questions like that."

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Does anyone know who has custody of Tanya Skeltons
two daughters and their ages? Are they with her first husband? So between the two of them natural and step children they had 6 children

Tanya's first husband was given custody of the children when they divorced several years ago.

John Skelton's sister said today she doesn't believe her brother is getting a fair shake from authorities.

Linda Ford, 40, of Jacksonville, Fla., told the Free Press in a phone interview tonight that she has spoken twice with her brother since his failed suicide attempt Friday -- including today before he was arrested on parental kidnapping charges.
Ford said investigators who have interviewed her brother have told him they believe the woman he claims to have given his children to -- a Joann Taylor -- is not real and just an alibi.
"They're trying to tell my brother that he is Joann. That he made up an alter ego," she said.
Ford said she believes her brother attempted suicide Friday because he was in a deep depression.
She said her brother was fired from his job with an Ohio trucking company about two weeks ago. She said she believes he had been taking time off work to see his sons when their mother would allow it. She said he was previously fired from another trucking company more than a year earlier for drunken driving.
"You can only push a human so far," she said.
Ford said her brother tried to hang himself from a banister leading down into the basement of his Morenci home, but changed his mind. When he tried to get down, he lost his footing and fell to the concrete floor, broke his ankle and lost consciousness, she said.
Ford said her brother has maintained consistently that the children are with a Joann Taylor, who she said he described as a tall woman with black hair who has children and a heavy-set husband.
"His story has never changed," Ford said, adding that she "will stand by my brother."

Read more: Skelton's sister says he was deeply depressed | freep.com | Detroit Free Press [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Reporters and the community are digging into John Skelton's past. Skelton has been arrested for the parental kidnapping of his three sons Tanner, Alexander and Andrew.

An NBC24 viewer contacted the station after finding Skelton's apparent My Space pageunder the name "Bones Does It."

On the site are pictures and other information but what stands out in light of this investigation are some somewhat disturbing song lyrics he says he wrote.

Part of the song goes...

"I'm cold and alone in this metal room
With plastic bags and a worn out broom
Nobody hears my call for you
Come back mommy 'cause I need you
(chorus)
It's my dying breath and I see a glow
It's an Angel from Heaven
And he's taking me home
John Skelton"

The song was posted in May of 2007 but perhaps just give a little insight into Skelton's personality.

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I don't think this is going to end up with these boys found alive.

This dude is one sick SOB.

MORENCI, MICHIGAN (WKZO) - Authorities have arrested the father of three Michigan boys who have been missing since last Friday. There are now reports that John Skelton admitted to FBI interrogators that he killed the boys. Morenci Police Chief Larry Weeks says Skelton, was arrested upon his release from a mental health facility where he was held after an alleged suicide attempt. Weeks says he is charged with three counts of parental abduction, and admitted it looks like the boys are not coming home.

Billy Williams is a relative and says it's hard to imagine Skelton could've harmed his own boys. Volunteer search crews are scouring the area again today, looking for clues of the boys' whereabouts.

Court records say the parents of the three missing southern Michigan boys had a custody dispute but later worked out a time-sharing agreement. Records say Tanya Skelton got sole custody after filing for divorce, but John Skelton requested custody two weeks later, citing his wife's sex offense conviction.

Police and volunteers have been searching areas of southern Michigan and northwestern Ohio for nine-year-old Andrew Skelton and his brothers, seven-year-old Alexander and five-year-old Tanner.
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The reports are not confirmed, however, I believe that he did kill the boys. Another horrific outcome. It will never end it seems. More and more children falling through the cracks - this economic situation has also played a part in this I believe. Too much stress and people crack but everyone in the family has to be vigilant about signs of serious problems especially when these people are caregivers of children.

So now I have to ask folks. Should they take the death penalty off the table to find those boys or never find them and not be able to get death because of no bodies.

MORENCI, Mich. — A father charged with kidnapping his three missing boys fought extradition from Ohio to Michigan on Wednesday as an army of volunteers set off to trudge through fields, woodlands and dirt roads to search for the brothers who have not been seen since Thanksgiving.

John Skelton, a 39-year-old unemployed long-haul truck driver, sat throughout the court hearing in Toledo, Ohio, in a wheelchair covered by a green blanket, answering the judge's yes-or-no questions in a whisper. His attorney told the judge his client would fight his return to Michigan.

Skelton was arrested Tuesday on three counts of parental kidnapping, and so far, police say, he hasn't told investigators much about where the boys might be. After Skelton fought extradition, the judge in Ohio set bond at $3 million and scheduled another hearing for Dec. 14.

Shortly afterward, Morenci Police Chief Larry Weeks said he expected the search for the boys to continue into next week, and said investigators hadn't spoken with Skelton in "some time." Asked whether he thought the children had been killed, he said he refused to believe that "at this point."

"It is my desire to maintain hope," he told reporters during a Wednesday news conference. "But as I said yesterday, the information we have did not indicate that this is going to have a positive outcome."

Weeks said Wednesday that authorities will ask the small army of volunteer searchers who have been scouring the wilderness in and around Morenci to break for the weekend starting Friday evening. He said authorities want to take the weekend to decide how to proceed with the search next week.

More than 200 volunteers turned out Monday and Tuesday to help investigators comb through fields, wooded areas and campgrounds in search of 9-year-old Andrew, 7-year-old Alexander and 5-year-old Tanner Skelton. The boys were last seen on Thanksgiving playing in the backyard of their father's home in Morenci, a town of about 2,000 residents about 75 miles southwest of Detroit.

A similar search in Ohio was conducted a few weeks ago about 130 miles to the southeast after a mother from Howard, Ohio, her friend, 13-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son disappeared. Police say the girl was found bound and gagged in a 30-year-old unemployed tree-cutter's basement and that he led them to the dismembered bodies of the other three stuffed in a hollow tree trunk.

Three buses took volunteers from the Morenci fire hall to search areas on Wednesday morning. Michelle Williams was to be among them.

Michelle Williams, 45, said she brought chili to the hall this week for the volunteers.

"I know the family – I've known 'em for years," she said of the Skeltons. "The grandmother taught me to sew. . They're great people."

Her heart sank when she learned of Skelton's arrest.

"It's just sickening. I just can't believe there's people out there that evil who would hurt their own kids," she said. "I'm still hoping that they find them and he's lied about the whole thing, because he's lied before."

Lee Ann Underhill, a Morenci resident who went to school with the children's mother, Tanya Skelton, searched for the boys between her long overnight shift at a plastics factory and a few hours' sleep. She said she knew the boys, and like others here, she said finding them is personal.

"I've been through fields, creek beds and woods," Underhill said after returning from a search Tuesday afternoon. "We're looking for anything out of the ordinary."

Another searcher, Bill Foster, said everyone in the town of 2,000 was hoping for a "Christmas miracle" and the boys' safe return.

"The search has to continue. We won't quit the search until we bring the boys home," Foster said.

Locals began combing through fields and woods Saturday, the day after the boys' mother reported them missing and the day after John Skelton tried to hang himself.

Skelton was arrested by FBI agents Tuesday afternoon following his release from a medical facility in Lucas County, Ohio. He initially told investigators he gave his sons to a female acquaintance to hand over to his estranged wife. Police say he was lying.

Tanya Skelton, 44, filed for divorce in September. A judge gave her custody of the boys, but she and John Skelton reached an agreement on visitation.
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I am confused. One report states he has confessed. The other says he has not.

The report that he had confessed to an FBI agent hasnt been confirmed however, that wouldnt stop them from looking for the boys is my thought on why they continue to search.

jeanne1807 wrote:So now I have to ask folks. Should they take the death penalty off the table to find those boys or never find them and not be able to get death because of no bodies.

The DP is not the law in every State. We don't even know for sure if he killed them, and if he did..did he kill them in Ohio or Michigan?

At this point in time, just like poor Caylee Anthony
there is not much doubt that these boys are gone.

artgal16 wrote:The report that he had confessed to an FBI agent hasnt been confirmed however, that wouldnt stop them from looking for the boys is my thought on why they continue to search.

OK, that makes sense.

Art, I was not questioning YOU, just the two conflicting reports. You are always on the ball.

I truly believe these boys are gone. It is probably very cold up there and it just makes it more difficult to find them. So very sad!

I know Wrap, you never have to explain - I feel so terrible. Right now the stupid Congress is dithering
about tax cuts for the rich and almost two million of our fellow americans are going to be without additional benefits many of them unable to find any kind of work.
I know its not a political website but it galls me as there are so many people in pain and there are social
consequences that can come with the dispair of not being able to feed and clothe your family. One of those consequences is the way John Skelton took.

Maybe it is simple "dithering" and will go nowhere.

I do agree..many heads of families are taking horrific measures due to our Lack of economics and job loss.

I am not completely sure that is the case with John Skelton....yet.

I am wondering if some of you that live in warmer climates have noticed more homeless people? There were so many in Honolulu when we visited there a couple of years back.

My Aunt and Uncle live in Florida and they are telling me there are a lot more homeless people living in the woods up there. There is a big area by Ocala and it is set up as a homeless camp by homeless people.

We don't see much of that in Indiana because of the cold, cold Winters.

I truly believe we will see a lot more homeless and those living in cars due to unemployment benefits coming to an end. How sad..how very sad.

And I might add this is not just poor people. This is people that had it all and lost it all.

We are warmer here in Southern California - the homeless are a terrible problem- really terrible also mixed in with the mentally ill on the streets. Downtown there is an entire town. People go by and hand out coats and tents - there are children there too though they try to get them off the streets. I donate all my clothes that I dont wear in good condition to "Dress for succcess" for woman who are trying to get back into the workplace after being in a shelter.

That is really great of you, artgal!

Florida is a hot bed of homeless people. They live in the woods and TRY to live on the beach..fish and camp there..but LE has really come down on them.

I was just listening to HLN and a profiler was discussing the Skelton case and how sad John Skelton was over the Thanksgiving holiday due to his job loss as a long haul truck driver and his impending divorce.

I always thought that if there was one job that you could always get hired for it was for long haul trucking!
From what I understand its really a lifestyle but not an easy one as you are away from your family for such long periods of time.

I don't think we are even close to knowing their family dynamics.

Our country needs to start taking care of our own citizens. I thought that might be happening. People living on the streets. I am sure there will be Dateline and other shows like that starting to show the American Public what is really going on in our country.

With all the border problems, unemployment and homeless people it is high time we start MINDING OUR OWN BUSINESS.

I just heard on the news tonight they are thinking of moving the retirement age to 69. Imagine that. How many people at 69 are able to do the job they were doing 30 years earlier. I know I never could have done that. If a person wants to work that long or longer..good for them.

But to take benefits we have worked for all our lives. Now they are meddling.

Just wait - they are just starting - next is social security and medicare - the "socialist" programs. I say make the congress all retire on social security and medicare and no big fat retirement check from the goverment and see how well they live! It amazing how they are pushing for tax cuts for the rich which they know we cant pay for and will add to the deficit, but are willing to not extend 2 million people unemployment benefits for ordinary working people
to feed and clothe their families.

Thread drift, thread drift! :lol!:

You are right sorry! At least the police in Michigan
got Skelton in jail fast - that damn Adam Baker is still roaming free in the Zahra Baker case.

Don't be sorry.....just joking. We used to hear that on another blog all the time.

Those three boys are so cute!! How could anyone think of harming them? I really hope they are safe somewhere, but it isn't sounding very good!

BJOR wrote:Don't be sorry.....just joking. We used to hear that on another blog all the time.

:lol!:
Seriously, I DO want this thread to stay on track even though I hear you, Jeanne and Artgal. I hear you both loud and clear. If you want to discuss this, there are some threads in Member's Only or you are more than welcome to start one as long as it is in MO and doesn't get out of hand. I am always a tad hesitant on the politics and religion topics but know that sometimes, especially with the job loss and pathetic feeling some have of no hope, we have to discuss it. I just want it to stay civil.

Back on topic. I can't believe they haven't found those boys yet. The father needs to fess up and do it fast. He is already up on murder charges. It would behoove him to tell the truth. How can he let his boys just lay somewhere out in the cold? It's heartbreaking!

Police are asking that the volunteer searches for three missing Michigan brothers be stopped by Friday night.
Local authorities and federal investigators have been trying to find 9-year-old Andrew Skelton, 7-year-old Alexander William Skelton and 5-year-old Tanner Skelton last seen on Thanksgiving.
The end of the volunteer searches will allow authorities the opportunity to process what has been done and collected and to "re-evaluate our direction for the following week," said Larry Weeks, police chief of Morenci, Michigan.
John Skelton, the boys' father who has been charged with parental kidnapping, is fighting his extradition from Ohio, authorities said Wednesday. A hearing is set for December 14.
Skelton was arrested Tuesday upon his release from a mental health facility where he was being treated after a suicide attempt, Weeks said.
Although investigators have found "a number of items," they still do not know the children's whereabouts, Weeks said.
Asked whether he believes that the boys are dead, Weeks said Wednesday, "I refuse to believe that at this point," saying he wanted to maintain hope. He did, however, repeat his Tuesday statement that a positive outcome is not anticipated.
Investigators have not spoken with Skelton "in some time," he said, or developed any additional information. He previously said authorities are skeptical of the information Skelton has provided.
Skelton said he left the three boys with a woman, whom he identified as Joann Taylor, the morning before he tried to take his own life -- in part to ensure that they did not witness his suicide attempt.
Skelton said Taylor was supposed to take the boys to their home in Morenci, a southern Michigan town of about 2,400 people about 40 miles west-northwest of Toledo, Ohio, Friday afternoon, Weeks said. But the boys never arrived.
Earlier, authorities determined that Skelton had no "established relationship" with the person he named as Taylor, and they aren't certain that she even exists.
Authorities continue to ask for the public's help, hoping someone saw Skelton's blue 2000 Dodge Caravan, in which he was believed to be carrying the boys along a 25-mile stretch of road between Morenci and Holiday City, Ohio.
The last time someone other than a family member saw the boys was at 5 p.m. on November 25, according to the chief.
Police say Tanner is 3 feet, 6 inches tall with strawberry blond hair and blue eyes, and weighs about 40 pounds. Alexander is 3 feet, 9 inches tall, has brown hair and eyes, weighs about 45 pounds and has scars on his hairline and chin. The oldest brother, Andrew, is 4 feet, 1 inch tall, has brown hair and eyes and weighs roughly 57 pounds.

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by Wrapitup Today at 4:06 am The father needs to fess up and do it fast. He is already up on murder charges.

Skelton hasn't been charged with murder....only with parental kidnapping at this point.

That's right. Thanks for clearing that up. But that is a pretty stiff bond for parental kidnapping. I wonder why he is fighting extradition?

Why is this case starting to remind me of the Caylee Anthony case? Joanne Taylor and Zenaida Gonzales. GMAB!!!

Volunteers searching for three brothers missing after their father attempted suicide here almost a week ago have been asked to suspend their searches after Friday.
Morenci Police Chief Larry Weeks said law enforcement officials will continue following up on tips but want time to re-examine their efforts.

"Those men and woman that have actually done the searching have been tireless," said Kathye Herrera, a friend of the family. "We would not want a tragedy because volunteers are too tired."

*************************************

Weeks said he continues to be hopeful.

He was at Skelton's house on one occasion and remembers Andrew coming up to him.

"He said, 'Hey chief, how ya doin'?' " Weeks remembered, saying Andrew then ran back into the house and came back with toy police garb on. "He said to me, 'I'm going to be a police officer like you one day.'

"That's been with me ever since."

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John Skelton allegedly told FBI interrogators that he killed his three sons, according to WTVB.

This has not been confirmed officially by a statement from the FBI or by Morenci Police Chief Larry Weeks at present, however, it does support the fact that the FBI arrested John Skelton upon his release from a mental health facility in Ohio on Tuesday of this week and are charging him with three counts of kidnapping.

Morenci Police Chief Larry Weeks and his department, as well as other law enforcement entities and personnel have committed themselves to searching for the three young missing boys--Alexander, Andrew and Tanner--as far as Ohio, where it is believed John Skelton drove to prior to his alleged suicide attempt.

FBI interrogators likely considered the possibility that if John Skelton did murder his children, his backyard--where the youth were last seen alive--could very well be the body burial site.

Additionally, FBI profilers would have considered the fact that although Skelton is no longer employed as a truck driver (having lost his job), but he is still cognizant--and could have made use of--the same trash bins and routes he used when previously on the road.

Truck stops are frequent places of rest, trash disposal and other activities for truck drivers traveling the interstate, and the last reported sightings of John Skelton between Morenci and Ohio lend credibility that he could have been frequenting familiar haunts.

Unfortunately, the youth remain missing and no evidence has ever been found to substantiate John Skelton's claim that he gave his three children to a woman named Joann Taylor.

WTVB said that reports had surfaced that John Skelton confessed to an FBI interrogator that he killed his sons.

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It is now being reported by mainstream media outlets that John Skelton has confessed to killing his 3 children before attempting to kill himself.

Rumors of this have been circulating for days, but have now allegedly been confirmed by these agencies through several sources.

Police have searched an abandoned school building in Kunkel, Ohio where Skelton said he wrapped them in blankets and gave each a teddy bear, leaving them inside. A local man called police after seeing Skelton's van on the news, advising that he had seen the van in the area.

Also checked were vacant houses, several restaurant dumpsters and even a garbage dump in Bryan, as well as multiple other locations, acting on information provided by Skelton as to where he dumped the boys' bodies.

Dive teams from Michigan, Indiana and Toledo are searching the St. Joseph River, just south of Pioneer, for three missing boys from Morenci at the time of this writing.

They are also set to search another nearby rivier and gravel pit.

Morenci Police Chief advised at a press conference on November 30, based on "Statements that he's made to investigators would indicate that it's not going to be a positive outcome."

Police are said to be witholding this information currently due to Skelton giving misleading information all along.

Unfortunatley, this does bring Chief Weeks' statement that searches would be suspended at day's end Friday into perspective.

A bright note in this tragedy is the pulling together of people, near and far, as was seen in the recent Knox County case.

A candle light vigil will be held in Archbold, OH Thursday night.

One generous anonymous donor even put up a $10,000 reward for the recovery of the children. The fact that this person is doing this anonymously is evidence of a wonderful character. GOD bless you.

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This is horrible news! I was hoping and praying those beautiful little boys would be found alive.

Sources told FOX 2's Taryn Asher when police first searched Skelton's Morenci home they found what could be small nooses and cut cargo straps. They also found the three boys' winter coats.

Before he lawyered up, the father of three missing boys was talking. According to a source, Skelton told investigators he is responsible for the death of his three sons. The Morenci police chief alluded to that during a press conference.

Skelton allegedly admitted to police he killed his three boys, but what he did with his kids is where the story keeps changing. At one point, he susposedly told investigators he wrapped his sons' bodies in sheets, gave them each a teddy bear and hid their bodies in an old schoolhouse in Kunkle, Ohio.

"They had a whole lot of police vehicles out here, had all the roads blocked off, and just searching all around here. A lot of helicopters," said Sam Firm.

Police searched the building, which is now being renovated for apartments, but found nothing.

We are told Skelton has led authorities on a wild goose chase with tips that led them to a family cabin in Cobb Lake, abandoned houses, parks, campgrounds and overpasses throughout Northwest Ohio.

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I am so sad to read that John killed those little boys.

I only wantched a little of the shows last night and I think it was on NG that they said the children might have been put in water somewhere.

OMG, this is just horrible.
He said he didn't want his wife to have them because she had a sex crime against her but he MURDERS them? No, that doesn't fly. Sounds like if he couldn't have them, she certainly couldn't so it looks like he took care of *the problem*.
I just cannot understand these people and how could anyone, let alone a parent snuff out three little precious lives?
This is so sad.

He knew right from wrong - he will not get out of this on a psych defense.

The case of the missing Skelton brothers has eerie similarities to another case that grabbed national attention, and put a spotlight on northwest Ohio, more than 5 years ago.

In July 2003, Manuel Gehring took his 14-year-old daughter, Sarah, and 11-year-old son, Phillip, to a Fourth of July fireworks show near their home in New Hampshire. That was the last time the siblings were seen alive.

Now, authorities are not saying that the Skelton brothers are dead or what their father John Skelton did with them but they have predicted a bad outcome.

The Gehring kids' father Manuel did confess to killing his children and burying their bodies along a 700-mile stretch of interstate 80. While awaiting trial, in 2004, Gehring killed himself, but before he took his life he gave police a detailed description of the burial site. Authorities narrowed the location down to Ohio and Pennsylvania, along the Ohio Turnpike.

In July 2005, the children's mother, Teri Knight, conducted her own search of the Ohio Turnpike in Maumee hoping to finally bring her children home. But she came up empty handed.

Then, 5-years ago this past Wednesday, a woman walking her dog found the remains of the two children near the town of Hudson in northeast Ohio, just off the turnpike. The woman's dog picked up the scent from the childrens' grave.

Now in the wake of a new tragedy, the painful memories of the Gehring story have re-surfaced.

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