READ UPDATE HERE: Shocking security footage shows stepmom leave home with missing boy, return without him [Reports]
Security footage from a neighbor may hold the clues police need to determine what happened to 11-year-old Gannon Stauch, who disappeared last Monday.
According to FOX 31, neighbor Roderrick Drayton said he started doing some investigating on his own after Gannon mysteriously vanished from their Colorado Springs neighborhood on January 27.
“I couldn’t sleep so I just stayed up and I started looking through [surveillance footage],” Drayton said. “I looked through on my tablet, then I said, ‘Let me look on my TV to be sure.”
Authorities asked for the details on the footage to remain disclosed at this time, but it apparently made Gannon’s father, Al Stauch, break down in tears after watching it.
“He just broke down crying,” Drayton said.
Drayton added that investigators told him that the footage was the break that they needed.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Tecia Stauch, Gannon’s stepmother, told police she last saw him on January 27 at their home off of Mandan Drive in the Lorson Ranch neighborhood, near Colorado Springs.
Tecia Stauch told police that Gannon never returned home Monday after walking to a friend’s home between 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. So far, none of his friends in the neighborhood have indicated that they saw Gannon that day. The boy also reportedly missed school on the day he vanished.
Al Stauch, who was out of town working when his son vanished, said that it was not like Gannon to walk off or run away.
Reportedly, Tecia did not know which friend’s house the boy went to on Monday, according to Al Stauch, who said his wife told him that Gannon didn’t specify which friend he wanted to visit, NBC 5 reports. The stepmother said she couldn’t comment on the details of the case at this time.
She also indicated that she has taken care of Gannon for the past two years. She claimed, however, that she was longer in her home after Gannon’s mother, Landon, arrived in Colorado to help search for him.
“My husband’s ex-wife is living in our home,” the woman complained. “I took care of Gannon for the last two years in our home because his mother didn’t want to do it…OK, and I would never, ever hurt this child.”
Tecia Stauch also explained that on January 26, she took Gannon and his younger sister hiking at the Garden of the Gods Park. Afterward, they stopped by to eat at Burger King, she said during an interview with CBS 11 on Friday afternoon.
The following day, according to the stepmother, Gannon vanished.
During a press conference last week, Landon spoke through tears while pleading for her son’s safe return. Landon said the boy was born prematurely with a small chance of survival. Despite the odds, Gannon pulled through and is now a gifted student, according to his mother.
“My son is a very loving kid, he wouldn’t harm anybody,” Landon said. ”Why is this happening to him?”
“My kid has a purpose and my kid has a life…Gannon, bubba, little man, mommy’s hero, wherever you are at, we’re here for you. We’re begging for you to come home, I can’t wait until you’re found.”
Major Crimes detectives with the El Paso SO have taken over the case, according to FOX 12, with the assistance of the FBI. Al Gauch, who is a member of the National Guard, is also helping with the search.
Gannon is described as a white male who stands 4-feet-9-inches tall and weighs around 90 pounds. He has brown eyes and brown hair. He was last seen wearing a blue hooded jacket, jeans, and athletic shoes.
Anyone with any information on Gannon’s whereabouts is urged to contact the El Paso SO’s “Investigations Tip Line” at 719-520-6666. or the El Paso County SO 719-390-5555.
“He’s just kind and tenderhearted…just hoping he’s all right out there you know? Hoping we can find him soon,” Al Stauch said.
The story is developing. Check back for updates.
[Feature Photo: Gannon Stauch/El Paso County Sheriff’s Office]
