Sept. 24 (UPI) -- Federal agents and more than two dozen agencies are looking for a missing special needs boy who disappeared in the North Carolina woods over the weekend.
Officials said 6-year-old Maddox Ritch went missing from Rankin Lake Park Saturday afternoon while he was with his father.
Monday was the third day of the search. Police said more than 100 people have searched more than 1,400 acres.
Officials said Ritch -- who has autism, stands 4 feet tall and weighs 45 pounds -- wore an orange shirt when he was last seen and his family said he does not speak.
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The boy's parents said he simply wandered out of sight at the park.
"He started running, according to the parents, and when they started running after him, they lost sight of him, and no one has seen him ever since," Gastonia Police spokeswoman Rachel Bagley said.
"Maddox's family has been interviewed and is working closely with us," said Gastonia Police Chief Robert Helton. "Every second counts when a child is missing."
The FBI's Child Abduction Rapid Deployment Team is helping search for the child.
"We're going to explore all possibilities, including abduction," said FBI Special Agent Jason Kaplan. "But we're also going to make sure we search every inch of land around here to make sure that he's not simply lost."
The 242-acre Rankin Lake Park was closed Monday to facilitate the search.
Thanks to our law enforcement partners for helping @GPDNC in the search for 6-year old Maddox Ritch. Call the tip line at 704-869-1075 if you have any information to help #FindMaddox. Search teams are focused on the area around Rankin Lake Park. pic.twitter.com/JSuTVyaVpF
- FBI Charlotte (@FBICharlotte) September 23, 2018
