Indiana boy abducted in 1994 found in Minnesota under different name
Published January 10, 2013
Associated Press
WOLCOTTVILLE, Ind. – Richard Wayne Landers Jr. was just 5 years old when he and his paternal grandparents, who were upset over custody arrangements, disappeared from Wolcottville, a town about 30 miles north of Fort Wayne.
Nineteen years later, news that he has been found living under an assumed name in Minnesota left his mother overjoyed and "jumping up and down," her husband said Thursday shortly after police announced the break in the case.
Indiana State Police said the now 24-year-old Landers was found in Long Prairie, Minn., thanks in part to his Social Security number. His grandparents were living under aliases in a nearby town and confirmed his identity, investigators said.
Police declined to say whether the grandparents will face charges, citing the ongoing investigation.
Landers' mother, Lisa Harter, was "jumping up and down for joy" when investigators told her a few days ago that her son had been found, her husband Richard Harter told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.
He said his wife is "the happiest woman on earth."
Harter said he and his wife were working with an attorney and hoped to reunite with his stepson soon. Police said Landers is married and expecting his first child.
Harter declined further comment and referred questions about the case to his attorney, who didn't immediately return phone messages Thursday. Investigators declined to release the names under which Landers and his grandparents had been living.
Police said the boy's paternal grandparents, Richard E. and Ruth A. Landers, abducted him in July 1994 because they were "upset over pending court proceedings" regarding his placement.
Police spokesman Sgt. Ron Galaviz said it appears the boy's father was never in the picture. Lisa and Richard Harter had married a year earlier.
Authorities believe the grandparents took the boy from their home in Wolcottville and fled. They were charged at the time with misdemeanor interference with custody, which was bumped up to a felony in 1999. But the charge was dismissed in 2008 after the case went cold.
Investigators reopened the case in September when Richard Harter turned over the boy's Social Security card to an Indiana State Police detective.
That turned up a man with the same Social Security number and date of birth living in Long Prairie, Minn., about 100 miles northwest of Minneapolis. A driver's license photo for the man appeared to resemble Landers, police said.
Indiana State Police then contacted Minnesota law enforcement agencies, which began investigating along with the FBI and the Social Security Administration.
The grandparents were found living in nearby Browerville, Minn.
"By all accounts, it didn't appear he suffered from any abuse, either physical or mental," Galaviz said.
7 comments:
How incredibly sad for this boy and his mother who can never get back the 19 years these people stole from them. The grandparents/kidnappers should be re-charged with at least the felony custodial interference, or better yet kidnapping. They had NO right to take this boy away from his mother, esp. considering that the father wasn't even in the picture. Just because they didn't physically abuse the boy doesn't mean they weren't cold, heartless monsters.
Anyone who would rob a child of his mother at such a young age is evil, selfish and clearly NOT trying to provide for the best interest of the child. I can only imagine the evil things they have probably told this boy over the years about how his mother didn't want him, how she gave him away, was a drug addict, or maybe even that she was dead. The damage they have done is irreparable and they should have the book thrown at them!
I agree, Jen...
Selfish people. The law should apply, no emotions attached. Right is right.
I agree. What people will do for control is truly astonishing. It will be interesting to see how the son will feel about his grandparents especially after becoming a dad himself and wondering what it would be like to have his baby snatched from his life because a relative injected themselves into his life on account of they didn't "approve".
It's definitely a happy and sad time for his mom.
Is this a case of the child coming to no serious harm as espoused by the gruesome twosome and proff their child could still be alive?
i wonder why it took so long for him to be identified and recovered.
According to another article, the grandparents had full custody of the boy from birth. The mother and her new husband were working with Child Protective Services to regain custody. The grandparents were distressed at the idea of losing the boy they had raised for five years, so they left. This does not make their actions correct, but does make me feel sympathy for them. I would be heartbroken to raise a child from birth and then be told I had to give him up, especially to a mother involved with CPS.
http://www.indystar.com/article/20130110/NEWS/130110016/Indiana-boy-abducted-in-1994-found-married-in-Minnesota
I wonder if the reason the grandparents had custody is that the mother had a drug habit and they didn't trust her with the child.
Is anyone else confused as to why it took 19 years for someone to look for him with the social security number?
I just don't get that.
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