Missing Boy Hidden in Grandma's Wall ALIVE!!!

ST. LOUIS (Sept. 5) - A boy allegedly abducted in a custody dispute nearly two years ago has turned up alive, hiding with his mother in a small, specially built secret room at his grandmother's Illinois home, investigators said.
Richard "Ricky" Chekevdia, who turns 7 on Sept. 14, was in good spirits and physically fit after being found Friday by investigators with a court order to search the two-story rural home in southern Illinois' Franklin County, about 120 miles southeast of St. Louis.



The boy's mother, 30-year-old Shannon Wilfong, is charged with felony child abduction. The grandmother, 51-year-old Diane Dobbs, is charged with aiding and abetting. Wilfong remained jailed Saturday on $42,500 bond in Benton, Ill., where Dobbs was being held on $1,000 bond. The women did not have attorneys listed Saturday in online court records.
The boy was staying Saturday with one of his father's relatives while state child-welfare workers investigated claims the father abused the child before his disappearance — allegations rejected by the dad, who's thrilled the agonizing search has ended.
"Two years? You have no idea," Mike Chekevdia, a 48-year-old former police officer who's a lieutenant colonel in the Illinois National Guard, told The Associated Press by telephone Saturday from his house in Royalton, Ill., some three miles from the home where his son turned up. "I've lost sleep. I've lost weight. I've gained weight. I wouldn't wish this on anybody."
After hearing his son had been found, Chekevdia said, "you could have knocked me over with a feather."
Chekevdia won temporary custody of his son shortly before the boy and his mother — Chekevdia's former girlfriend — disappeared in November 2007. Chekevdia said he long suspected his son was being stowed by Dobbs, although there were no signs of the boy at her home when it was searched with her consent after his disappearance. Wilfong was charged in December 2007 with abducting the boy but couldn't be found.
For much of the time since, Chekevdia said, the windows of Dobbs' home were blocked off by drawn shades or other items, presumably to prevent anyone from peeking inside.
"I had a firm belief he was in there, and yesterday it was confirmed," Chekevdia said.

Investigators, during a news conference Friday, did not detail what led sheriff's deputies and federal marshals with a search warrant to Dobbs' house Friday, when they found the boy and his mother in a hideaway roughly 5 feet by 12 feet and about the height of a washing machine.
"We let him out of the (patrol) car and he ran around like he'd never seen outdoors. It was actually very sad," Illinois State Police Master Sgt. Stan Diggs said. "He was very happy to be outside. He said he never goes outside."
"Surprisingly," Diggs added, "Ricky is in very good spirits. For someone who's been isolated in that house with no other outside beings, he's a very social, very polite, very talkative little boy."
Dobbs, the grandmother, told the Southern Illinoisan newspaper of Carbondale, Ill., last year that her daughter had been forced into hiding to keep the child from his father. Dobbs called the custody dispute a "nightmare for all of us."
Chekevdia, eager to get his son back in school and to a dentist, said waiting for Ricky to resurface required patience.
"It's hard to sit back and watch things happen when you're used to making things happen," said Chekevdia, a gung-ho military officer who served in Iraq earlier this decade. "But I just bided my time and let the system work."

Missing Boy Allegedly Abducted in Custody Battle Found Hidden Behind Wall
ST. LOUIS — A boy allegedly abducted in a custody dispute nearly two years ago has turned up alive, hiding with his mother in a small, specially built secret room at his grandmother's Illinois home, investigators said.

Richard "Ricky" Chekevdia, who turns 7 on Sept. 14, was in good spirits and physically fit after being found Friday by investigators with a court order to search the two-story rural home in southern Illinois' Franklin County, about 120 miles southeast of St. Louis.

The boy's mother, 30-year-old Shannon Wilfong, is charged with felony child abduction. The grandmother, 51-year-old Diane Dobbs, is charged with aiding and abetting. Wilfong remained jailed Saturday on $42,500 bond in Benton, Ill., where Dobbs was being held on $1,000 bond.

The boy was staying Saturday with one of his father's relatives while state child-welfare workers investigated claims the father abused the child before his disappearance — allegations rejected by the dad, who's thrilled the agonizing search has ended.

"Two years? You have no idea," Mike Chekevdia, a 48-year-old former police officer who's a lieutenant colonel in the Illinois National Guard, told The Associated Press by telephone Saturday from his house in Royalton, Ill., some three miles from the home where his son turned up. "I've lost sleep. I've lost weight. I've gained weight. I wouldn't wish this on anybody."

After hearing his son had been found, Chekevdia said, "you could have knocked me over with a feather."

Chekevdia won temporary custody of his son shortly before the boy and his mother — Chekevdia's former girlfriend — disappeared in November 2007. Chekevdia said he long suspected his son was being stowed by Dobbs, although there were no signs of the boy at her home when it was searched with her consent after his disappearance. Wilfong was charged the next month with abducting the child but couldn't be found.

For much of the time since, Chekevdia said, the windows of Dobbs' home were blocked off by drawn shades or other items, presumably to prevent anyone from peeking inside.

"I had a firm belief he was in there, and yesterday it was confirmed," Chekevdia said.

Investigators, during a news conference Friday, did not detail what led sheriff's deputies and federal marshals with a search warrant to Dobbs' house Friday, when they found the boy and his mother in a hideaway roughly 5 feet by 12 feet and about the height of a washing machine.

"We let him out of the (patrol) car and he ran around like he'd never seen outdoors. It was actually very sad," Illinois State Police Master Sgt. Stan Diggs said. "He was very happy to be outside. He said he never goes outside."

"Surprisingly," Diggs added, "Ricky is in very good spirits. For someone who's been isolated in that house with no other outside beings, he's a very social, very polite, very talkative little boy."

Dobbs, the grandmother, told the Southern Illinoisan newspaper of Carbondale, Ill., last year that her daughter had been forced into hiding to keep the child from his father. Dobbs called the dispute a "nightmare for all of us" and insisted her daughter had difficulty getting authorities to help.

Chekevdia, eager to get his son back in school and to a dentist, said waiting for Ricky to resurface required patience.

"It's hard to sit back and watch things happen when you're used to making things happen," he said. "But I just bided my time and let the system work."

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,546981,00.html?test=latestnews




Missing Boy Found Alive, Hidden at Grandma's Home
Ill. boy abducted in custody dispute found alive, hidden behind wall at grandmother's home

A boy allegedly abducted in a custody dispute nearly two years ago has turned up alive, hiding with his mother in a small, specially built secret room at his grandmother's Illinois home, investigators said.

Richard "Ricky" Chekevdia, who turns 7 on Sept. 14, was in good spirits and physically fit after being found Friday by investigators with a court order to search the two-story rural home in southern Illinois' Franklin County, about 120 miles southeast of St. Louis.

The boy's mother, 30-year-old Shannon Wilfong, is charged with felony child abduction. The grandmother, 51-year-old Diane Dobbs, is charged with aiding and abetting. Wilfong remained jailed Saturday on $42,500 bond in Benton, Ill., where Dobbs was being held on $1,000 bond. The women did not have attorneys listed Saturday in online court records.

The boy was staying Saturday with one of his father's relatives while state child-welfare workers investigated claims the father abused the child before his disappearance — allegations rejected by the dad, who's thrilled the agonizing search has ended.

"Two years? You have no idea," Mike Chekevdia, a 48-year-old former police officer who's a lieutenant colonel in the Illinois National Guard, told The Associated Press by telephone Saturday from his house in Royalton, Ill., some three miles from the home where his son turned up. "I've lost sleep. I've lost weight. I've gained weight. I wouldn't wish this on anybody."

After hearing his son had been found, Chekevdia said, "you could have knocked me over with a feather."

Chekevdia won temporary custody of his son shortly before the boy and his mother — Chekevdia's former girlfriend — disappeared in November 2007. Chekevdia said he long suspected his son was being stowed by Dobbs, although there were no signs of the boy at her home when it was searched with her consent after his disappearance. Wilfong was charged in December 2007 with abducting the boy but couldn't be found.

For much of the time since, Chekevdia said, the windows of Dobbs' home were blocked off by drawn shades or other items, presumably to prevent anyone from peeking inside.

"I had a firm belief he was in there, and yesterday it was confirmed," Chekevdia said.

Investigators, during a news conference Friday, did not detail what led sheriff's deputies and federal marshals with a search warrant to Dobbs' house Friday, when they found the boy and his mother in a hideaway roughly 5 feet by 12 feet and about the height of a washing machine.

"We let him out of the (patrol) car and he ran around like he'd never seen outdoors. It was actually very sad," Illinois State Police Master Sgt. Stan Diggs said. "He was very happy to be outside. He said he never goes outside."


In this Aug. 2007 photo provided by Michael Chekevdia, Richard Chekevdia poses at a wedding in West Frankfort, Ill. Authorities say the boy, allegedly abducted in a custody dispute two years ago, has been found alive, hidden behind a wall at his grandmother's southern Illinois home. Franklin County authorities found 6-year-old Richard Chekevdia on Friday, Aug. 4, 2009 in a small room hidden behind a wall in Diane Dobbs' rural home. The boy's mother, Shannon Wilfong, is charged with felony child abduction. Dobbs is charged with aiding and abetting.http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=8498885

Boy Missing 2 Years Kept Hidden In Secret Room
Mo. Authorities Say Richard "Ricky" Chekevdia Was Abducted By Mother, Hidden At Grandmother's House
A boy allegedly abducted in a custody dispute nearly two years ago has turned up alive, hiding with his mother in a small, specially built secret room at his grandmother's Illinois home, investigators said.

Richard "Ricky" Chekevdia, who turns 7 on Sept. 14, was in good spirits and physically fit after being found Friday by investigators with a court order to search the two-story rural home in southern Illinois' Franklin County, about 120 miles southeast of St. Louis.

The boy's mother, 30-year-old Shannon Wilfong, is charged with felony child abduction. The grandmother, 51-year-old Diane Dobbs, is charged with aiding and abetting. Wilfong remained jailed Saturday on $42,500 bond in Benton, Ill., where Dobbs was being held on $1,000 bond. The women did not have attorneys listed Saturday in online court records.

The boy was staying Saturday with one of his father's relatives while state child-welfare workers investigated claims the father abused the child before his disappearance — allegations rejected by the dad, who's thrilled the agonizing search has ended.

"Two years? You have no idea," Mike Chekevdia, a 48-year-old former police officer who's a lieutenant colonel in the Illinois National Guard, told The Associated Press by telephone Saturday from his house in Royalton, Ill., some three miles from the home where his son turned up. "I've lost sleep. I've lost weight. I've gained weight. I wouldn't wish this on anybody."

After hearing his son had been found, Chekevdia said, "you could have knocked me over with a feather."

Chekevdia won temporary custody of his son shortly before the boy and his mother — Chekevdia's former girlfriend — disappeared in November 2007. Chekevdia said he long suspected his son was being stowed by Dobbs, although there were no signs of the boy at her home when it was searched with her consent after his disappearance. Wilfong was charged in December 2007 with abducting the boy but couldn't be found.

Chekevdia's father was serving in Iraq when police say Wilfong took the boy, according to CBS affiliate KFVS-TV in Cape Girardeau.

For much of the time since, Chekevdia said, the windows of Dobbs' home were blocked off by drawn shades or other items, presumably to prevent anyone from peeking inside.

"I had a firm belief he was in there, and yesterday it was confirmed," Chekevdia said.

Investigators, during a news conference Friday, did not detail what led sheriff's deputies and federal marshals with a search warrant to Dobbs' house Friday, when they found the boy and his mother in a hideaway roughly 5 feet by 12 feet and about the height of a washing machine.

"We let him out of the (patrol) car and he ran around like he'd never seen outdoors. It was actually very sad," Illinois State Police Master Sgt. Stan Diggs said. "He was very happy to be outside. He said he never goes outside."

"Surprisingly," Diggs added, "Ricky is in very good spirits. For someone who's been isolated in that house with no other outside beings, he's a very social, very polite, very talkative little boy."

Dobbs, the grandmother, told the Southern Illinoisan newspaper of Carbondale, Ill., last year that her daughter had been forced into hiding to keep the child from his father. Dobbs called the custody dispute a "nightmare for all of us."

Chekevdia, eager to get his son back in school and to a dentist, said waiting for Ricky to resurface required patience.

"It's hard to sit back and watch things happen when you're used to making things happen," said Chekevdia, a gung-ho military officer who served in Iraq earlier this decade. "But I just bided my time and let the system work."


Shannon Wilfong, 30, is charged with felony child abduction and her mother Diane Dobbs is charged with aiding and abetting. The two allegedly kept Wilfong's son hidden in a secret room for two years after stealing him from his father.
KFVS

Every so often, there is a case like this that though it angers me that he was take, HE WAS FOUND ALIVE. He at least NOW, has a chance at a real life. It's not very often that something like this happens. Thank God that this little guy has a chance now at a life!!!

FystyAngel wrote:Every so often, there is a case like this that though it angers me that he was take, HE WAS FOUND ALIVE. He at least NOW, has a chance at a real life. It's not very often that something like this happens. Thank God that this little guy has a chance now at a life!!!

Hi, Fysty! Thankfully, this little guy was found alive. His mother has a very "sick" kind of love for her child. I hope she serves time in jail, and isn't allowed any further contact with her son. She doesn't deserve to be a mother.

Wow, what a story. Thank God he is still alive. That's good news. Poor little guy.