Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - 11-year-old boy missing after stepmom says he went to a friend's. Where is Gannon Stauch?

Episode Date: February 3, 2020

11-year-old Gannon Stauch disappears the day after after a morning hike with his stepmother. Letecia "Tecia" Stauch says she last saw 11-year-old Gannon around 3:15 pm when he said he was going to a friend's home. Officials have not said if Gannon ever made it there.Joining Nancy Grace to discuss: Jason Oshins, New York Defense Attorney Joe Scott Morgan Forensics Expert, Professor of Forensics Jacksonville State University, Author,"Blood Beneath My Feet" Caryn Stark NYC Psychologist, www.carynstark.com  Anne Emerson, WCIV ABC 4 Charleston reporter This broadcast has been updated to reflect accurate information regarding the timing of the Stauch family hike. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace strives for full transparency in all broadcasts. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. I'm Landon Hyatt, Gannon's mom, and I encourage you guys, I know many of you mothers and fathers, I encourage you just to seek, find him. I'm so thankful for all the outpouring help that this case has brought. My son is a very loving kid. He wouldn't want harm on anybody at all and it's so hard to just think, why is this happening to him? I have no clue, but my kid deserves to come home. My kid has a purpose. My kid has a life. And it's important to me. And it's important to everybody that's standing in this room.

Gannon, Bubba, little man, mommy's hero, wherever you're at, mommy and daddy's here. We're begging and pleading for you to come home. I know that's your biggest wish, is to see mommy and daddy standing here. Hearing her voice is breaking my heart. That is a presser at the El Paso County Sheriff's Office. The mother of this little boy, Gannon Stotts, just 11 years old, begging for his safe return. That was Landon speaking. Where is 11-year-old Gannon Stotts? The Colorado boy vanishes after leaving home to visit a friend's house days ago.

I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us. With me, an all-star panel. To break it down, put it back together again. Tip line, 719-520-6666. Repeat, 719-520-6666. Jason Oceans, New York defense attorney. Cloyd Steiger, 36 years Seattle PD, homicide detective and author of Seattle's Forgotten Serial Killer, Gary Jean Grant.

Joseph Scott Morgan, professor of forensics, Jacksonville State University, author, Blood Beneath My Feet on Amazon. Karen Stark, New York psychologist at karenstark.com but right now to ann emerson wciv abc4 joining us and tell me first about gannon's disappearance what happened what they understand right now nancy is that gannon shouts the 11 year old disappeared from his father's home he lived there with his father and his stepmother in just a little suburb outside of Colorado Springs. And what we're understanding is that he was reported missing after he had left the house. He was wearing a blue jacket and sneakers and jeans. He said he was going to go see a friend.

It was on the afternoon around 3.30, they think, that he told his stepmom he's going to go out and see a friend. And that was the last time we saw Gannon Stout. Okay, wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. So he says, do we know what time of the day or night it was that he went to go see the friend? We think it's about between three and four is what they've narrowed it down to. The stepmom said it was around 3.30 is what they're going with. Okay, wait a minute, wait a minute. January 27, that is a school day. Right. Was he in school that day? Well, we've been told that the stepmom says that he was not in school today. We don't have a clear answer why. She said we've heard a

couple of things, one that he was sick and the one that he had a doctor's appointment. So he had stayed home that day. No, no, no, no. I don't like it. I don't like it one bit, Ann Emerson, because number one, why can't we get a clear answer? Are you telling me, Ann, we don't know if he was in school or he was not in school? According, it's been reported already that he was not in school and that the sheriff's office has said that he was not in school. According, it's been reported already that he was not in school and that the sheriff's office has said that he was not in school. Okay, right there, Ann. I don't like it. Because if he was so ill, he had to

stay home from school, he would not be going out and visiting, walking around the neighborhood. If he had a doctor's appointment, he would have gone to the doctor's appointment and then gone to school if he wasn't ill. Okay, go ahead, Ann Emerson, WCIV ABC4.

Well, Nancy, so what we hear now is that at 315, so the child's gone to visit a friend. Oh, wait a minute. Jason Oceans wants in. Ann Emerson, hold on. Jason Oceans feels he needs to be heard. Jason Oceans, what do you do with conflicting statements? If all these statements come from your client, what do you do? You're trying to get hold of your client right away to stop talking. That's the first thing, Nancy, but relatives... Wait a minute.

You paid three years of law school tuition to tell her to stop talking? You got to come up with something better than that. Well, isn't that the first thing is is the uh you know the right not to incriminate yourself so clearly you'd rather have the evidence by the people be produced beyond the preponderance of reasonable doubt for a conviction rather than have your own client negate your own case wouldn't you nancy well yeah but i mean the house the horse is out of the barn jason okay she's already said it all or else i guess if i were thinking you know when you want to catch a varmint you gotta think like a varmint i'm referring specifically to defense lawyers as the varmint what i'm saying is yeah you gotta

think like a varmint and that's a quote i believe from caddy shack wow and what i'm saying is a defense lawyer will explain away all of the different statements and may say well no what i said was we had been planning to take a hike that afternoon but he wanted to go see a friend and that got twisted up and i was gonna get a doctor's appointment yeah i mean you come up with wily ways to explain everything away. Well, that's part of, you know, parsing through the story and what happened. He was home. He didn't feel well that day, but he felt better. He was going to go see his friend. That wouldn't be uncommon, too.

Didn't feel well in the morning. Maybe he was playing hooky for an exam or something. That stepmom was being nice about it. Let him go. And now to the end of school time for the day anyway. Go see a friend. So all those things in your wily, varmint way, as you described, counsel, they're all certainly plausible. I know your spidey sense is tingling.

Well, I hope you're sitting down, Jason Oceans. I hope you're sitting down because now we're getting another claim from the stepmother. Take a listen to our friends at KKTV CBS 11. This is Spencer Wilson. You've been a part of the investigation since the very first time you were the last person to see him. Is that right? Correct. What did you see when you last saw him?

Well, I'm not allowed to talk about anything with the case. I would more so be willing to talk about how the community needs to have faith and continue to work together and not make these false accusations. Like the things that have been said that I've disappeared from the community. I haven't been there to help, but there's lots of reasons behind that. Reasons like death threats, right? Right. Death threats are one of them. My family is getting lots of death threats.

We counted over 20 some death threats already. Two, my husband's ex-wife is living in our home and of course I'm not coming home to do these things and to help with the family when I was kind of like told I couldn't. And then many other things that happened with the El Paso County Police Department, you know, and in doing the investigation I was told I wasn't compliant. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. He's so special to me. I don't think many people can understand. My child was a one pound six ounce baby.

He had a 10% chance of survival. If he survived, he will be profoundly disabled. None of that is accurate. He's gifted and talented. Do anything for anybody. So I'm begging, I'm pleading. If anybody has any type of lead, put yourself in my situation. Ask yourself, what would you do? My Savior is a great Savior. And I know I have hope and that my son's going to be here. I'm thankful for the churches, the pastors, the outpouring support from this community, from Albert's military family, everybody, the detectives. I had, it was you that was sitting at the table, and you told me that 90% success rate, and you told me that I'm going to find Gannon.

I believe that. It's the first time I had hope since i got that call on monday you are hearing the mom the bio mom of gannon starch age 11 now missing uh over six days now and what time i've got so many questions i'm sorry ann emerson and what time was he reported missing so he was reported missing to the el paso sheriff's office the county sheriff's office there at 6.55 p.m. They receive a call of a runaway child. By 7.32, they are already treating this as an active runaway situation based on what the stepmom has said. So this is what keeps bothering me about this, too.

The child doesn't take his cell phone. He doesn't tell the stepmom where he's going. And supposedly the dad even says at one point, you know, he would have said where he was going. He's not saying who it is in just like a hoodie. He's wearing a hoodie in Colorado in the afternoon, which is scary because that's the cold weather. Joe Scott, weigh in. You know, last time she sees him, he's heading out for this friend's house. And remember, at this point in time, this time of year, we're in the wintertime, it's going to start to turn dark, you know, towards 4.30, 5 o'clock, this sort of thing. And to our reporter's comment earlier, you know, why does he leave the house and he's only wearing a hoodie? He doesn't have a heavy jacket on.

Ann Emerson, what about the stepmom claiming that she's getting death threats and moved out of the house? That is her claim. As far as moving out of the house, she said that she just she couldn't be there because I guess, golly, I mean, reading between the lines to her, the biological mom just came from South Carolina to hear that her son is missing and is in the house. And now we hear from the stepmom that she doesn't feel welcome and she wants an apology from her husband when it's all over take a listen to gannon's dad albert stalk well what incredible community we have i mean everybody in here in a team incredible team that um yeah i came out my

front door i think it was tuesday and there was 300 people out there searching my neighborhood it blew me away. So thank you, everyone. Thank you. Again, Daddy loves you so much. And with with that his dad breaks down in tears the tip line 719-520-6666 719-520-6666 6 nancy gray's crime story signing off goodbye friend Goodbye, friend.