In 2007, 4-year-old Ricky Chekevdia and his mom evaporated. Police say he was secured in a small, secret room in his grandma’s rural Illinois home and his mom is to be faulted. This Aug. 2007 photograph shows Ricky at a wedding in West Frankfort, Ill.
How did Ricky Chekevdia wrap up secured in a minuscule, austere 12 x 5 foot space for a considerable length of time? Police say his mom, Shannon Wilfong, snatched the kid Sept. 21, 2007, after a warmed guardianship debate with Ricky’s dad, Mike Chekevdia. The parents shared joint guardianship of Ricky at that point. Ricky and his dad are found in this undated family photograph.
Shannon Wilfong, 30, was accused of lawful offense kidnapping after police tracked down her 6-year-old son, Ricky Chekevdia, in a minuscule, secret room taken cover behind a divider in Wilfong’s mom’s Illinois home. The kid’s grandma, Diane, Dobbs was accused of supporting and abetting.
A tip drove authorities to the Franklin County, Ill. home of Ricky Chekevdia’s grandma, Diane Dobbs. U.S. Marshalls and Illinois State Police affirm the young man was being kept in an unfinished plumbing space in his Dobbs’ home. Police say Ricky was not permitted to head outside or even post the window besides around evening time. The roof of his room was just four feet high.
Ricky Chekevdia’s grandma, Diane Dobbs, claims that Ricky’s dad, Mike Chekevdia, physically mishandled him and she was attempting to safeguard the kid. She additionally says Ricky invested the vast majority of his energy outside the room. Mike Chekevdia, 48, a previous cop and lieutenant colonel in the Illinois Army National Guard, denied any bad behavior. Dobbs is accused of helping and abetting.
Ricky Chekevdia presents with his dad, Mike Chekevdia, at an August 2007 wedding in West Frankfort, Ill. Ricky vanished not long after this photograph was taken. He returned Sept. 4, 2009, when police tracked down him in a mystery room in his grandma’s home.
Mike Chekevdia, right, displayed with his son before the kid’s 2007 kidnapping, says he has just seen Ricky through a vehicle window since the kid was found. Chekevdia says he would rather not rush his son, but simultaneously, can hardly hold on to get Ricky back into an ordinary life and have him get together again with their canine, Ace.
As of Aug. 8, 2009, Ricky Chekevdia, displayed here before his 2007 snatching, is a dependent of the government. Following two years, which police say he spent in bondage, the 6-year-old is remaining with a relative of his dad, Mike Chekevdia. An adjudicator says the objective is to rejoin father and son.