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Five-year-old Richard Wayne Landers Jr. was abducted from LaGrange County, Indiana, in 1994. He was found this week in Minnesota, now 24-years-old. (January 11, 2013) |
WOLCOTTVILLE, INDIANA -- Relatives of an abducted LaGrange County boy who was found this week in Minnesota say they always felt he was safe.
“We never thought anything bad,” said Jack Landers, whose uncle and aunt, Richard and Ruth Landers, are alleged to have abducted their grandson, five-year-old Richard Wayne Landers Jr. in 1994.
Landers Jr. and his grandparents were found living in the town of Long Prairie, Minnesota this week.
“They were just good solid people,” said Jack Landers, who lives in rural Wolcottville, Indiana.
Relatives never knew why the child was abducted or where he was taken, but they assumed it was somewhere out West, Landers said.
“No one really said a whole lot about it. It was just they weren't here, they were gone,” he said, Friday.
Family members are just glad to finally have some answers.
“It's good that it's come out, everybody's got to take a deep breath, and you can relax a little bit. Everybody is safe,” said Landers, “it's a relief really.”
Sheriff Peter Mikkelson said the investigation is ongoing and the case will be forwarded to federal authorities for possible charges.
It's unclear what Landers knew about his history, but authorities said he had lived with his grandparents since birth.
According to court records, Landers applied for the name change himself in November 2006, just a couple weeks after he turned 18. It wasn't immediately clear how long he had used the name Michael.
A home phone number for Landers could not be found, and he and his wife didn't respond to multiple messages sent through social networking sites.
But a posting from his Facebook account appeared Friday night on the Minneapolis television station KARE's Facebook page, saying: "For you people who jump to conclusions you should find out the whole story I was where I needed to be. My 'grandparents' were in the the right I dont care what anyone else thinks."
Landers didn't immediately respond to a follow-up message from The Associated Press seeking confirmation it was his statement. AP believes the Facebook account to be Landers' based on multiple links between it and confirmed friends and relatives.
