Amber Alert issued for 3 boys still missing after dad’s suicide attempt (video)

Amber Alert issued for 3 boys still missing after dad’s suicide attempt (video)

On Friday an Amber Alert was issued for three young Michigan boys who remain missing after their father attempted to hang himself. According to police who continue to search for the boys, they are feared to be in “extreme danger” and their father has not been ruled out as a suspect in their disappearance.

John Skelton, the boys' 39-year-old father was treated for “mental health issues” in an Ohio hospital on Friday, reports KOMO.

Andrew, 9, Alexander, 7, and Tanner, 5, were last seen on Thursday, according to Morenci Police Chief Larry Weeks. Morenci is located on the border of Ohio.

Skelton said he gave the boys to a female acquaintance, Joann Taylor, prior to his suicide attempt, thus police are also searching for her, despite the fact that they've been unable to confirm her existence, Weeks said.

Skelton is separated from Tanya Skelton, the boys mother, and has been caring for his sons.

He told police he didn’t’ want the boys in the house when he took his life. Skelton also told authorities he met Taylor, who drives a silver van, a few weeks ago on the Internet.

Weeks said “The bulk of our action has been putting together a timeline and trying to locate this Joann Taylor.”

According Nichole DiCenso, who knows the Skeltons, this is not the first time their father has created a situation in which their mother has had to search for them.

“[John Skelton] has taken them to Florida before, just after school started,” said DiCenso. “She [Tanya Skelton] had to down there and get them.”

Andrew is 4-feet-1 inch tall, weighs 57 pounds, and has brown eyes and hair. Alexander is 3-feet-9 inches tall, weighs 45 pounds, and has brown eyes and hair, and a scar at his hairline and on his chin. Tanner is 3-feet-6 inches tall, weighs 40 pounds, and has blonde hair and blue eyes.

Anyone with information on the alleged victims, abductor or vehicle is asked to call 911 or the Morenci Police Department at (517) 263-0524.

To see a video report regarding the case, click on the player to the left of this article, or click here.

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