Michigan State Police are following new leads in the 15-year-old disappearance case of the Skelton brothers, Detective Sgt. Dan Bowman confirmed Nov. 25. The renewed focus comes after investigators received fresh tips between Morenci, Michigan, and Pioneer, Ohio.
Bowman declined to share specifics, citing the ongoing investigation. The update comes less than two weeks after John Skelton, the boys’ father, was charged with their murders. The brothers — Andrew (9), Alexander (7) and Tanner (5) were last seen at their father’s home in Morenci around Thanksgiving Day 2010.
One of the new tipsters, Jennifer Handsone, of Pioneer, Ohio, emailed The Daily Telegram on Nov. 25. Handsone believes she saw Skelton’s van parked on the side of the road near the St. Joseph River on Thanksgiving Day 2010.
“I noticed a dark-colored van with a slanted window up top parked on the right side of the road south of Pioneer near State Route 15 and State Route 20,” Handsone said. “The van was facing toward Pioneer. I said, ‘Wouldn’t it stink to be stuck on the side of the road on Thanksgiving?’ ”
About a week later, Handsone saw a flyer with Skelton’s photo and a picture of his van and made the connection. She said she twice reported seeing the van, but never received a call from investigators.
“At that moment I was like, ‘Oh my goodness, that’s the van we saw that morning,’ ” she said. “I’ve always continued throughout the years to try to get someone to hear me, to hear what I’ve had to say about that van.”
Handsone said she spoke with a detective Nov. 25 who told her she’d be added to a witness list and confirmed investigators would contact the Williams County Sheriff’s Office to explore her tip.
“I’m hoping that it brings some kind of answer or some kind of direction as to where these boys might be,” she said.
Another witness, Tiffany Bernath, also emailed The Daily Telegram on Nov. 25. Bernath believes she, too, saw a van matching Skelton’s vehicle description around the time of the boys’ disappearance. Bernath said she was driving behind the van and noticed the driver acting erratically.
“The van stopped in the middle of the road in front of Lazy River Campground,” Bernath said. “The van pulled into the Lazy River Campground — not all the way, but in — and I just went on my way.”
The Lazy River Campground, now called River’s Edge Campground, is located within 5 miles of where Handsone reported seeing the van. Pioneer was the focus of extensive searches by volunteers and law enforcement shortly after the boys vanished in 2010. The area is mostly rural farmland, with the headwaters of the St. Joseph River.
Skelton was scheduled for release from the Michigan Department of Corrections on Nov. 29 after serving 15 years for the unlawful imprisonment of his sons. The Lenawee County Prosecutor’s Office issued a new warrant Nov. 12, charging him with three counts of open murder and three counts of tampering with evidence.
Skelton has long claimed, in varying accounts, that he gave the boys to an underground organization to protect them from alleged abuse. Those stories have never been substantiated.
The brothers were legally declared dead in March.
Skelton was transported to the Lenawee County Jail on Nov. 17. His public defender, John Glaser, requested to adjourn a probable cause conference originally set for Nov. 24 to allow time to review evidence. The conference is now tentatively scheduled for Dec. 17, though Glaser said the defense may need more time.
Tips should be emailed to the Michigan State Police Cold Case Unit at msp-coldcase@michigan.gov.
Contact reporter Corey Murray at cmurray@lenconnect.com or follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @cmurrayhdn.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: MSP chasing new leads in Skelton brothers’ disappearance
Reporting by Corey J. Murray, The Daily Telegram / The Daily Telegram
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
