Missing boys not found in camp search

MORENCI, Mich., Nov. 29 (UPI) -- A search of an Ohio campground Monday afternoon found no sign of three missing brothers from Michigan.

Dozens of law enforcement officers from both states searched the Lazy River Campground near Pioneer, Ohio, for Andrew Skelton, 9, and his brothers, Alexander, 7, and Tanner, 5, the Detroit Free Press reported.

Asked whether the children's father, John Skelton, had ever been to the campground, campground owner Doug Rowland said, "I have no record of him having camped here, at least under that name."

Earlier, police said Skelton lied about handing his sons over to a woman named Joann Taylor before trying to kill himself Friday.

"We have been able to eliminate the reported established relationship between Joann Taylor and Mr. Skelton based on recent information we've gathered from a number of sources," said Morenci, Mich., Police Chief Larry Weeks.

He said investigators were still interviewing Skelton, who was in a mental health facility, and had searched his home, the Free Press reported.

Weeks also said police were seeking information on Skelton's 2000 Dodge Caravan and the possibility it was seen in the Michigan-Ohio border area before dawn Friday, The Detroit News reported.

Morenci Schools Superintendent Michael Osborne said he considered closing school Monday but decided to stay open to provide a sense of normalcy. Counselors were on hand to talk with students and staff.

More than 200 people from Ohio and Michigan crowded Morenci United Methodist Church Sunday night to pray for the boys' safe return.

A family friend, said Tanya Skelton, the boys' mother, had no idea the children might be in peril when they visited her estranged husband for Thanksgiving.