For days, investigators in Colorado Springs, Colorado, have been searching for clues as to what could have happened to 11-year-old Gannon Stauch. The tween was reported missing on January 27 by his stepmother, Letecia Stauch, who told police she last saw Gannon leaving home to visit a friend that afternoon. But a neighbor's surveillance footage now calls into question whether that version of events ever happened.
In her original statement, Letecia Stauch claimed that Gannon left between 3:15 and 4:15 p.m.
After she reported him missing, investigators began looking into his disappearance, suspecting he was a runaway. But Thursday, the case was upgraded to a missing and endangered child case, ABC News reported.
Upon hearing this, the boy's neighbor, Roderrick Drayton, began searching through footage captured on his home security camera.
What he saw left him concerned.
According to Drayton, the video shows Letecia getting into a red pickup truck parked in the driveway of the home. Shortly after, Gannon is seen walking toward it slowly before he climbs in.
"I caught Gannon getting into her vehicle at 10:13 Monday morning," Drayton told ABC News.
The truck returns once more at 2:19 p.m., but Gannon doesn't appear to be inside.
In fact, he never again surfaced on the video.
"I just kept searching and I saw where she came back," Drayton recalled. "And he didn’t get out of the vehicle. So she came back by herself about four hours later."
Drayton says he immediately turned the footage into investigators, who are reviewing it.
Authorities strongly caution that the tape is only one piece of a much larger puzzle they're working diligently to solve.
Drayton has also said that he showed the footage to Gannon's father, Albert Stauch, who had an incredibly emotional reaction.
"He just broke down crying and said, 'She lied. She lied about the time. He didn’t go to a friend’s house,'" Drayton recalled.
In truth, the clip does seem to suggest Letecia Stauch lied to police, though she strongly denies she had anything to do with Gannon's disappearance.
"I would never, ever, ever hurt this child," Letecia told KKTV. "We are going to find Gannon and that's the main goal that we all have. I'm just ready for Gannon to come home."
In a video statement released Wednesday, Gannon's family shared their anguish over his sudden disappearance.
"This week has been awful," his mother, Landen Hoitt, said in the video. "It's been more than a roller coaster ride. It's been more than an emotional mess. I don't have answers for my feelings, other than I'm afraid. I'm afraid that I'll never hear his voice, that I'll never hear him run and say, 'Mommy!'"
Also in the video, which was shared on the El Paso County Sheriff's Office YouTube page, is Gannon's sister, Laina, and his father, Albert.
Gannon's mother shared that he loves the color blue, Sonic, and sports. But most of all, he's "full of life" and loves his family — the very people who so desperately want him to return home safely.
In the clip, Gannon's father also shared just how deeply his love for his son runs.
"His smile, even today, is keeping us going," Albert Stauch shared. "His smile brings me joy every time I think about it."
Even as the hours turn to days, and the days have turned to over a week, Gannon's family refuses to give up hope. Especially his mom.
"Every single day, he has to tell me a joke," Hiott said in the video. "He looks forward to telling me something silly. And I’m afraid that I won’t ever see that again or hear it. I don’t want to believe that, because that means that I’m giving up hope, and I’m not giving up hope, because my son is full of hope."
In the meantime, the El Paso County Sheriff's Office urges anyone who may know something about Gannon's disappearance to call its tip line at 719-520-6666 or send an email to [email protected].
