MORENCI, Mich., Nov. 28 (UPI) -- The hunt for three young Michigan boys their father says he left with a mystery woman just before he tried to kill himself was unsuccessful Sunday, police said.
The search along the Michigan-Ohio state line ended at dark and is to resume Monday, The (Adrian, Mich.) Daily Telegram reported. A prayer vigil was held Sunday evening at a church in Morenci, Mich., where the boys' parents live.
"We are not leaving any stones unturned," Morenci Police Chief Larry Weeks told The Detroit News.
A task force, including local and Michigan State Police, the FBI and two sheriff's departments, are trying to find Andrew, Alexander and Tanner Skelton, ages 9, 7 and 5, who were reported missing Friday.
Investigators combed a state park in Ohio Sunday but turned up no clues, the Fulton County Sheriff's Department said.
Police issued an Amber Alert for the boys after John Skelton, 39, said he turned them over to a woman named Joann Taylor, asking her to take them to his estranged wife Tanya. Skelton then tried to hang himself. After he failed, he contacted an acquaintance who took him to a hospital.
Three days later, police say they cannot find Taylor or even confirm her existence. Skelton had told authorities he had met Taylor and her husband last year and kept in touch online.
Roxann Skelton, the boys' grandmother, said from her Florida home she's hopeful.
"My heart doesn't lie to me," she said. "My heart tells me they're OK."
Asked if Skelton was a suspect, Weeks said, "We need to keep our eyes wide open."
