View full sizeJoel Hess, left, and Brandon Stewart, both from an ice rescue team for Cambridge Township Fire Dept. search for 9-year-old Andrew, 7-year-old Alexander and 5-year-old Tanner Skelton in a small pond in Morenci, Mich. on Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2010. Authorities "do not anticipate a positive outcome" in the search for three Michigan brothers who have been missing since their father's attempted suicide, a police chief said Tuesday. GINA DAMRON, Detroit Free Press
DETROIT -- John Skelton, the father of three missing Michigan boys, has been arrested and will be charged with three counts of parental kidnapping in connection with their disappearance, police said Tuesday.
Skelton was released Tuesday from the Fulton County (Ohio) Health Center and taken into custody by FBI agents out of Toledo, said Morenci, Mich., Police Chief Larry Weeks.
The charges are from Michigan's Lenawee County, so Skelton will be have to be extradited from the Lucas County Jail in Toledo where he will be held.
Williams County, Ohio, central dispatch said that reports on Facebook that the bodies of the children had been found there were false. Authorities are investigating that posting, the dispatch reported.
But earlier Tuesday, Weeks had ominous news about the search for the three boys.
Weeks said at a news conference Tuesday morning that based on information provided to law enforcement officials by their father, police "do not anticipate a positive outcome here."
He would not comment on specifically what information is leading police to that conclusion, simply saying it was statements made by Skelton.
"Because it's an ongoing and fluid situation, that information is not going to be made available to the public," Weeks said.
Asked how their mother, Tanya Skelton, is feeling, Weeks said: "Imagine your worst nightmare coming true. How would you respond?"
Morenci United Methodist Church Pastor Donna Galloway said she has been trying to support and comfort the boys' family. She said the Skelton boys--Andrew Ryan Skelton, 9, Alexander William Skelton, 7, and Tanner Lucas Skelton, 5 -- and their parents attended the church and even attended service the Sunday before the brothers went missing.
"I just want the boys home, which is what everyone wants," Galloway said.
She said there has been lots of support from the community.
"Because we are a community, we will survive and we will thrive," Galloway said.
Skelton, meanwhile, has hired an attorney, Harvey Koselka of Adrian, Mich. Koselka could not be reached Tuesday, but his secretary confirmed he is handling legal work for Skelton.
As rain drizzled, meanwhile, the search for three missing brothers continued Tuesday, focusing on an area in northwest Ohio.
Andrew, Alexander and Tanner went to their dad's house in Morenci on Wednesday, were last seen in the backyard Thursday, and by Friday were missing.
John Skelton claimed he gave the boys to a woman named Joann Taylor before he attempted to hang himself, but at a news conference Monday, Weeks said there was no established relationship between Skelton and a woman named Joann Taylor.
On Monday, a Lenawee County Circuit judge granted a motion by Tanya Skelton for exclusive parenting time with her three children because of her husband's claims of turning over the boys and attempting suicide.
View full sizeThis combo made with undated photos provided by The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children shows, from left, Alexander Skelton, 7 Andrew Skelton, 9, and Tanner Skelton. 5. An Amber Alert has been issued for three boys, who haven't been seen since Thursday when they were in their father's yard. John Skelton told police that he gave the boys to a female friend before attempting suicide, but authorities say they don't believe him. According to court documents, Tanya Skelton filed for divorce from her husband after he took her two older sons to Florida without permission. Records say John Skelton put his two older sons in their van in September 2010, but was unable to take Tanner because he was standing beside his mother.
According to documents, Andrew was crying and not in his seat when John Skelton drove off.
When Tanya Skelton filed for divorce, she accused her husband of leaving the state with the kids without permission, while John raised the issue that his wife is a registered sex offender. Court documents say the 44-year-old had a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old in the summer of 1998. She served time for fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct, according to the state's sex offender registry
The court ordered that the couple share custody of the children.
Weeks told the Detroit Free Press on Sunday that there had been some dialogue between Tanya and John Skelton about custody of the children on Friday -- the day the children were reported missing. Weeks wouldn't elaborate on what the discussions were.
Records show both Tanya and John Skelton have children from prior marriages and were both divorced when they met. Tanya has two older daughters in their 20s and, according to court records, John Skelton has a 17-year-old daughter, who he was paying child support for.
Court records show that in January, John Skelton was ordered to pay $3,497.02 in past due child support. A document in February said John Skelton was to pay $314 a month, but said his financial conditions were: "Unemployed & 3 more biological children in the household."
Friends and family have said John Skelton has worked as a long-haul truck driver and was once in the military.
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