Father again refuses in court to reveal location of missing Morenci boys

1/28/2011

ADRIAN — John Skelton has once again refused in open court to reveal the location of his three young sons, who have been missing since Thanksgiving.

During a Friday morning hearing in Lenawee County Circuit Court, Mr. Skelton was asked by Judge Margaret Noe to disclose the location of the boys: Andrew, 9, Alexander, 7, and Tanner, 5.

“I can't,” he responded.

Mr. Skelton, of Morenci, and his estranged wife, Tanya, were in court for a hearing in their divorce case.

In jail on charges of parental kidnapping since shortly after the boys were reported missing, Mr. Skelton first told authorities he gave his sons to a woman named Joann Taylor and then to an “organization” that he refuses to name.

Judge Noe set a hearing date of March 18 at 8:15 a.m. to serve as a pretrial and a review of the criminal case and what impact it might have on the civil proceedings.

Mrs. Skelton has said she believes the boys are alive.

Asked Friday morning about whether she was seeking alimony, her attorney, David McFarland, responded, “There are more important issues to discuss at this time, so no.”