Two Years Later, Missing Boy Found in Grandma's House
By Anthonia Akitunde in News on Sep 6, 2009 3:30PM
A 6-year-old boy and his mother, thought missing for two years, were found stowed away in a secret space in his grandmother's southern Illinois home, the Associated Press reports.
Richard "Ricky" Chekevdia was found Friday, healthy and happy after investigators with a court order searched his grandmother's rural, two-story home.
His mother, Shannon Wilfong, 30, is charged with felony child abduction. As of Saturday, Wilfong is in a Bentonville, Ill. jail on a $42,500 bond. Ricky's grandmother, Diane Dobbs, 51, is charged with aiding and abetting and is in the same jail as her daughter on a $1,000 bond.
Wilfong hid in the hidden, specially-built space - about 5 feet by 12 inches feet - In an effort to keep her son during a heated custody battle with her ex-boyfriend, the boy's father, Mike Chekevdia, 48. A lieutenant colonel in the Illinois National Guard, Chekevdia won temporary custody of Ricky in November 2007, shortly before the mother and son disappeared.
Dobbs home was searched after Ricky's disappearance with her permission, but the search was fruitless. Wilfong was charged with abduction in December 2007.
Ricky, who turns 7 September 14, is staying with his father's relatives as investigators look into claims the boy was abused by his father before the disappearance, allegations Chekevdia denies.