Indiana boy abducted in '94 found in Minnesota

INDIANAPOLIS An Indiana woman whose young son was abducted 19 years ago was screaming and "jumping up and down" after learning he was living in Minnesota under a different name, her husband said Thursday shortly after police announced they had found him.

Richard Wayne Landers Jr. was just 5 years old when he and his paternal grandparents, who were upset over custody arrangements, disappeared from Wolcottville, a town about 30 miles north of Fort Wayne.

Indiana State Police said the now 24-year-old Landers was found in Long Prairie, Minn., thanks in part to his Social Security number. His grandparents were living under aliases in a nearby town and confirmed his identity, investigators said.

Police declined to say whether the grandparents would face charges, citing the ongoing investigation.

Landers' mother, Lisa Harter, was "jumping up and down for joy" when investigators told her a few days ago that her son had been found, her husband Richard Harter told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

He said his wife is "the happiest woman on earth."

Harter said he and his wife were working with an attorney and hoped to reunite with his stepson soon. Police said Landers is married and expecting his first child.

Harter declined further comment and referred questions about the case to his attorney, who didn't immediately return phone messages Thursday. Investigators declined to release the names under which Landers and his grandparents had been living.

Police said the boy's paternal grandparents, Richard E. and Ruth A. Landers, abducted him in July 1994 because they were "upset over pending court proceedings" regarding his placement.

Police spokesman Sgt. Ron Galaviz said it appears the boy's father was never in the picture. Lisa and Richard Harter had married a year earlier.

Authorities believe the grandparents took the boy from their home in Wolcottville and fled. They were charged at the time with misdemeanor interference with custody, which was bumped up to a felony in 1999. But the charge was dismissed in 2008 after the case went cold.

Investigators reopened the case in September when Richard Harter turned over the boy's Social Security card to an Indiana State Police detective.

That turned up a man with the same Social Security number and date of birth living in Long Prairie, Minn., about 100 miles northwest of Minneapolis. A driver's license photo for the man appeared to resemble Landers, police said.

Indiana State Police then contacted Minnesota law enforcement agencies, which began investigating along with the FBI and the Social Security Administration.

The grandparents were found living in nearby Browerville, Minn.

"By all accounts, it didn't appear he suffered from any abuse, either physical or mental," Galaviz said.

[CM1959]

Or she is a perfectly fine mother and they are selfish criminals! No matter what, stealing a child is not the way to save a child. These grandparents are criminals and deserve to go to jail.

[thetruthwillout]

Everyone is assuming that the mother was some innocent victim. I am reserving judgment in regard to the grandparents until all the facts are out. Right now, we have only one side of the story. We have no idea what was going on in this child's life at the time of the abduction. For all we know, that abduction could have saved his life and turned his mother's around. We have no idea of the true facts of the case; everyone is willing to play judge, jury and executioner without all the facts.

[prm777]

Agreed... well said!

[enoughsaidu]

This same thing happened to my family. The differance is they only took my brother because he would be carrying on the family name. After all the lies told to him for the years they had him, he still stood by them and doesn't have much to do with our mother or our siblings. All those years of brain washing are very hard to undo. I feel for the 24 yr old man. May the tear in his heart be repaired.

[working_onit]

I agree.....THERE IS RARELY cause to usurp the parental role and disappear with a child. At this time, all I have to say is vile, evil, selfish, and cruel.

Apparently, we need new laws to prevent these type of child "disappearances" from EVER becomming cold cases......NO kidnap charges should EVER be dismissed. What the grandparents did was simply kidnap - and they both should now be held accountable - for what they did.

No other information is needed - period.

[greennnnnn-2009]

I concur 100%. These grandparents need to be charged and found guilty and serve time. Time does NOT erase the crime they perpetrated. They are still guilty. I cannot believe they would even consider the idea of not charging them.

[dmath62]

Why is it that every time a crime is committed, idiots say "we need new laws"? What part of "criminals do NOT follow the law" is so hard for you to understand??

[cedaly68]

Weird case. Curious why the Indiana State Police Detective did not have the boy's SSN until 14 years after his disappearance. Maybe I misread that but it seems like it would have been one of the first things turned over.

[greennnnnn-2009]

This is Indiana we're talking here. Podunk U.S.A.

[Violet189]

The courts were involved. Self righteous, evil and yes, they should be charged regardless of how well the young man is doing. He is 24 and having his fifth child? that's remarkable, at least to me.

[collinferg]

That would be his *first* child, not fifth!

[Solarrays247]

Where does it say the young man is expecting his fifth child? The article clearly states he is expecting his FIRST child.

See how easy it is to start false rumors? By any chance are you employed by Fox News? heh.

[SandraWelch]

Kidnapping is kidnapping, and should never be an option in any custody case. Too many parents, grandparents and guardians run with children, leaving families and communities to wonder where they went too. Imagine the nights of wondering: where is my child, is he safe, is he warm, is he loved, is he fed? Living under the alias, he would not have had access to family medical records, so hopefully, he was in good health and will remain so in the future.

[ymagaia]

The grandparents are far from faultless in this case. As a mother of four, I cannot imagine, not having contact with or lose the chance to know and love my child throughout his entire growing up period. Relious? What about the commandment on stealing or coveting something that does not belong to you? And why would the child be mad at his mom? If anything, he should be angry and bear grievance with his grandparents for keeping him from her not vise versa. If they go without some form of punish, that is completely wrong. Any other non custodial kidnapper would face great penalties. I hope that he and his mom have many opportunities to make new memories together in the future. I say "Good Luck and God Bless" to the son and his mother and step father. And to the grandparents, may God give them their just desserts in the after life.

[tmittelstaed]

The 24 year old man is the one in control here no matter what any of you say.

If the police charge the grandparents with anything, it will almost certainly poison any possible future relationship that the man has with his biological mother. If the mother has any brains at all then I would think she would know this and would not want them charged.

[greennnnnn-2009]

Um, WHY should charging them "poison any possible future relationship with his biological mother"??? That makes no sense. She's not the one who charges people, the court is. Inane post. THEY broke the law, not his mother. Get a clue.

[CM1959]

She has no say in the matter. And criminals deserve to stand trial for their crimes. There should be no statute of limitations here. Apparently they believe they are above the law, someone will remind them, besides this boy's mother, that they are not.

[tmonta67]

The people saying that the Armchair Admirals should wait until the facts come out have a point. However, it's going to take one heck of a sordid story regarding the mother to convince me that the grandparents had just cause to usurp the parental role and disappear with a child.

[thetruthwillout]

As if there aren't any sordid stories out there about bad and abusive mothers. Please!