Ian Ritch, the father of the 6-year-old boy with autism who was found dead on Thursday, is speaking out in the wake of his son’s tragic death Ian Ritch, the father of the 6-year-old boy with autism who was found dead on Thursday after he went missing from a North Carolina park, is speaking out in the wake of his son’s tragic death. In a lengthy Facebook post, Ritch said, in part: “Today i found out im not a dad anymore. I had big plans with my son. I wanted us to go fishing play ball go camping. I wanted to be his heroe [sic]. I wanted him to say i was more than superman or batman to him. I wanted people to ask him who his heroe is and him say my daddy. Get push notifications with news, features and more. “Now im no heroe i couldnt save him or protect him at all. I would give anything to go back and save him. While a lot of people dont believe anything i have said in the past believe this. From this moment on for the rest of my life i will live with the guilt of not being there to save my son. The most important person in my life.” The body of Maddox Ritch was found on Thursday after a five-day search. Maddox, who had autism and limited verbal skills, was walking with his father and another adult at the park around 1:30 p.m. local time on Saturday when he took off running. More than a dozen agencies participated in the search, even enlisting the help of divers to search a nearby lake. maddox-ritch-2 Maddox Ritch | Credit: Gastonia Police Department His remains were found in about two or three feet of water in Long Creek, just one mile east of Gastonia’s Rankin Lake Park — where he had last been seen. Gastonia fire chief Phillip Welch said Maddox could not have been swept into the creek from the lake due to a screen in the discharge area. On Tuesday, Maddox’s mother, Carrie Ritch, spoke through tears at a press conference as she pleaded for help to find her son. “I just want my baby home, please. Whatever you can do,” she said. “Maddox is my whole world, and my reason for living. He’s momma’s boy. I want my baby back in my arms.” In his post, Ritch went on to thank those who helped in the search for his son. “I want to say thank u from the bottom of my heart to everyone who took part in searching for my sweet lil buddy,” he wrote. “I truly appreciate everything everyone did to find him. And to everyone in the community that were hoping and praying and just took one second of their time to think about Maddox i thank yall too. “I loved that lil boy he was my best lil buddy. Maddox was my only child and he will be the only one i will ever have. I wasnt so worried about him when all this started on sat because i expected to find him right off over time i got more and more scared and worried. Once sunday morning came thats when it starte[d] me thinking i had something to worry about.” IR2 Maddox Ritch | Credit: Courtesy Ian Ritch Ritch previously told PEOPLE that he and his friend were walking with Maddox near the lake that afternoon when the playful boy took off running behind a jogger. It was common for Maddox to run around, so Ian allowed the boy to jog ahead for fun, he said. But when Maddox began running faster, Ian said he took off after him and wasn’t able to catch up with his son before losing sight of the boy. “When everyone else gets to go back to their normal lives remember that i will never be the same man again,” his statement continued. “I will now and forever be a broken man until i take my last breath. Ive never been a very spritual man before but [now] i want to be just so when i die my lil boy will be the first person i see when i get into heaven. I cant wait to see his lil smiling face again.” He ended his statement with a plea to other parents. “Just please hug ur children tighter and please dont make my mistake and let them get too far away from u,” he wrote. “Do everything u can with ur children because i wont get the chance to do anything with mine. “Now to Maddox i just want to say i love u lil buddy. Please be waiting for me when my time comes because i promise im gonna do everything i can to be with u rooster!!!! !” The Mecklenberg County Medical Examiner’s office tells PEOPLE the cause of death has yet to be determined.<doc-sep>GASTONIA, N.C. (WTVD) -- Gastonia police received confirmation Monday from the medical examiner's office that the body found in a park last week is that of 6-year-old Maddox Ritch Maddox's body was found last Thursday partially submerged in Long Creek, a little more than one mile from where his father had last seen him.Maddox's father, Ian Ritch, told police that the boy, who has autism and is nonverbal, disappeared after running off while they were at Rankin Lake Park.Autopsy results are not yet complete, so a cause of death is unknown at this time. "We are deeply saddened to learn the body found by searchers last Thursday is confirmed to be Maddox Ritch," Gastonia Police Chief Robert Helton said Monday. "Hundreds of people searched tirelessly for this child and our work continues to answer every question we can about his tragic death. "Authorities are still looking for information regarding Maddox's disappearance, specifically from people who were at the park the day he went missing -- on Saturday, Sept. 22.Anyone with information is asked to call police at (704) 869-1075.<doc-sep>
(CNN) — The funeral for Maddox Ritch, the missing 6-year-old boy with autism whose body was found in a North Carolina creek last week, is set for Friday, and the FBI continues investigating. Maddox went missing while on a walk with his father at a Gastonia park. In an extensive search, authorities used dogs, drones and sonar, and partially drained an 80-acre lake to better see its shoreline. Maddox’s body was found in a creek about a mile east of Rankin Lake Park, where he was last seen with his father and a friend, Gastonia Fire Chief Phil Welch said. “I’m heartbroken,” Gastonia Police Chief Robert Helton said last week. “Our community is heartbroken, our searchers, our investigators. This is not the end we had hoped for.” The body was partially submerged in 2 to 3 feet of water. The area, thick with underbrush, had been searched numerous times. The medical examiner’s office positively identified the remains, Gastonia police said Monday. Autopsy results are not complete. Investigators still hope to speak to people who were in the park that day to piece together what happened to Maddox, who was nonverbal. Brooke Sheppard told CNN she had seen him “skipping, jogging, being a kid.” Father mourns lost son Maddox’s father, Ian Ritch, said he and a friend were walking when his son ran ahead, likely triggered by a passing jogger. Maddox was about 25 to 30 feet away when he broke into a sprint, Ritch said. Ritch said he “was giving him just a little leeway, freedom” but he had a clear view of his son. Maddox often would run ahead but let him catch up, Ritch said. “I couldn’t catch up with him. I feel guilt for letting him get so far ahead of me before I started running after him,” Ritch told reporters last week. Jason Kaplan, an FBI supervisory special agent, said investigators want to determine the cause and manner of death, as well as the boy’s exact movements. Kaplan pleaded for anyone with information to come forward. “There’s a lot of information indicating that Maddox was where the family indicated, and his movements were what the family indicated,” he said. On Thursday evening, Ritch posted an emotional message to his Facebook page reacting to news of his son’s death. “I had big plans with my son. I wanted us to go fishing play ball go camping. I wanted to be his hero,” he wrote. “I wanted him to say I was more than superman or batman to him. I wanted people to ask him who his hero is and him say my daddy. Now I’m no hero I couldn’t save him or protect him at all. I would give anything to go back and save him.” CNN’s Justin Gamble, Dianne Gallagher, Darran Simon and Ray Sanchez contributed to this report.