Missing Michigan Boys Case: Will the Children Be Found Alive?

John Skelton had lost custody of his three sons--Andrew, 9; Alexander, 7, and Tanner, aged 5, two months earlier, when his wife Tayna Skelton had filed for divorce, according to MSNBC.

John was awarded visitation rights and the boys were with him at his home in southern Michigan last Thursday, before he attempted suicide on Friday.

According to law enforcement statements, John told them he had been concerned about his sons witnessing his suicide, so he had sought the assistance of an online friend named Joann Taylor.

Police unable to verify statement of suicidal father

Police have made every effort to corroborate Skelton's statement to no avail. The alleged Joann Taylor could easily be a fictional name created by a man bent on hiding the deaths of his own children from the police now that his suicide attempt was unsuccessful.

Morenci Police chief Larry Weeks has expressed in a statement that the authorities "do not anticipate a positive outcome."

The elementary school where the children were enrolled are preparing for the worst as well.

John's mother, Roxann Skelton, wants to believe the children are safe, too, refusing to contemplate her son might have been involved in their disappearance.

"He's not a bad boy. He's a good father."

Mom had skeleton in closet too: on sex offender registry

As if the police don't have enough muddy water to wade in this case, WSBT also disclosed that the three boys' mother, Tanya Skelton, has a record for sex offense. The news station stated that Michigan records reflect that "fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct" was the charge listed for Tanya Skelton.

Police haven't addressed this information as of this writing, but they undoubtedly already knew about it before WSBT reported in on Tuesday, Nov. 30.

According to WSBT, the children were last seen at 2:30 p.m on Friday, following Thanksgiving instead of Thursday. However, police had originally stated the children were last seen on Thursday in the backyard of their father's home.

John Skelton not only parent potentially capable of murder

Years ago another parent, Susan Smith, fabricated a tale of her young sons being kidnapped when she had murdered them instead.

That case didn't just impact her husband and immediate family and friends, as Ms. Smith created racial tension by saying the kidnapper in her case was African American, playing on the racial divide to thwart law enforcement efforts and gain sympathy.

Other cases of parents murdering their children have made headlines since, but it is to the credit of Morenci law enforcement that they are leaving no stone unturned in the search for the missing boys. It is also to their credit that they immediately began taking the disappearance to the national level publicly.

Missing persons vs. missing children

Missing children have the benefit of an Amber Alert being made immediately by law enforcement when they have disappeared; missing adults do not. This is why some missing person cases never seem to get resolved.

Adults who go missing could have walked off on their own, leaving law enforcement in a quandary about expending their limited resources and manpower in a search that might prove like the "Runaway Bride" incident a few years back.

If a thorough grounds search at the residence--in the backyard area of John Skelton's home (where the boys were allegedly last seen alive) has not yielded significant clues of foul play to date, this case may go on to be another Kyron Horman situation.

Joann Taylor: real or made up?

John Skelton is getting mental help in Ohio after his botched suicide attempt. That mental help could eventually lead the father of Alexander, Andrew and Tanner to disclose where his children really are and what really happened between their Thursday night time in the backyard and his Friday alleged suicide attempt.

If that happens, Roxann Shelton won't be the first mother to be unable to accept their child grew into someone capable of committing murder against their own children. What mother wants to believe or accept that?

Tanya Skelton is now purported to have a record for sexual offense. But her estranged husband did not name her as the one he gave their three sons to last week., leaving some to speculate that the disappearance of three little boys may be a more complicated situation than first assumed.

References:
"Cops fear worst in hunt for missing Mich. boys," MSNBC.com; "Jacksonville grandmom of 3 missing Michigan boys believes they're OK," The Florida Times-Union, Jacksonville.com; "Amber Alert Update: Mom is on sex offender registry, 3 kids still missing," WSBT Fox 17.com