MORENCI, Mich.-- Eight months have passed since three young brothers disappeared, but their faces remain very much present in this tight-knit town of 2,000. Posters of the boys cling to store windows, public-service announcements request tips on the boys' whereabouts, and their names are fixtures in daily conversation.
But optimism that they are alive continues to fade.
"I think the boys are dead, and I hope I'm wrong," Morenci resident Charlie Cox said. "I know a lot of people feel the same way I do."
The court case moved forward Thursday morning when John Skelton of Morenci, the father of the missing boys, who is accused in their disappearance, pleaded no contest in Lenawee County Circuit Court to three counts of unlawful imprisonment.
The plea will not interfere with the ongoing investigation into the boys' disappearance, investigators said in a joint statement released late Thursday by Lenawee County Prosecutor Jonathan Poer and Morenci Police Chief Larry Weeks.
"We consider this just one more step toward everyone's goal of fully resolving this case," the statement says.
Mr. Skelton could receive up to 15 years in prison when he returns to court for sentencing on Sept. 15, defense attorney John Glaser said. As part of the deal, kidnapping charges are expected to be dropped, but Mr. Glaser informed Mr. Skelton in court that homicide charges could still be brought against him.
Mr. Skelton's three boys -- Andrew, Alexander, and Tanner, who were ages 9, 7, and 5 when they vanished -- have been missing since late November.
Gail Johnson, who lives next door to Mr. Skelton's house, where the boys were playing in the yard when they vanished last November, said the community is torn over whether to cling to hope or reluctantly accept that they might never come home.
Her husband, Adam, saw the boys on Thanksgiving Eve when they were out playing in their backyard.
"I still have hope; my husband does not," she said. "It just scares me ... there are some odd groups out there."
Police circled the block around the home of the boy's mother, Tanya Skelton, Thursday, asking that her privacy be respected.
Family friend and spokesman Kathye Herrera released a statement Thursday saying that the family supports all decisions by law enforcement.
Investigators said the plea agreement was reached with the support of the Morenci Police Department, the Lenawee County Prosecutor's Office, and Tanya Skelton and her family.
"We believe the plea agreement in this case represents what a jury would likely have concluded based upon the facts and evidence as currently developed and assures separate felony convictions for each victim," they said.
Police have said they are considering the case to be a murder investigation.
Judge Margaret Noe will be given a police report or other documents to review and then decide "whether or not she can find him guilty," a court official said. The hearing was not on the morning docket, a court clerk said.
Patricia Burrow, owner of local pizza parlor Pizza Box Inc., said community members are angry and frustrated with Mr. Skelton.
Mr. Skelton has repeatedly told investigators the boys are with an underground sanctuary group.
Said Mr. Cox, "There are groups out here, I feel that's a possibility. I don't know who they are, I don't know where they are, [but] under our society, a group like that could exist."
Ms. Johnson said that during the years she lived next to Mr. Skelton and the children, he was a good neighbor who appeared to love his boys.
"I would never have guessed from what I saw," she said. "He cared for the boys."
Community members want justice shown to Mr. Skelton, but more than anything, they want to see the boys come home.
"We miss the little guys running up and down the streets," Ms. Johnson said. "That's all they did, all day long."
Information from The Blade's News Services was used in this report.
Contact Sara Felsenstein at: sfelsenstein@theblade.com or 419-724-6050.
First Published July 29, 2011, 6:03 a.m.
