Gannon Stauch’s Stepmom Charged In Connection With Disappearance

EL PASO COUNTY, CO — The stepmother of missing 11-year-old Gannon Stauch was arrested Monday in connection with his disappearance, the El Paso County Sheriff's Office announced. Leticia Stauch was taken into custody in South Carolina and awaits her extradition to Colorado, authorities said.

Stauch faces charges of first-degree murder of a child under 12 by a person in a position of trust, child abuse resulting in death, tampering with a deceased human body, and tampering with physical evidence, the sheriff's office said.

Investigators did not release details about the case to protect criminal proceedings, and the affidavit remains sealed. Authorities said Gannon's remains had not been located.

"This is a nightmare," Gannon's mother, Landen Hiott, said at a press conference Monday. "I will make sure justice is served."

The boy left his home near Fountain between 3:15 and 4 p.m. Jan. 27 to go play at a friend's house down the street, according to the sheriff's office. He has not been seen since.

A surveillance video from near the boy's home shows him getting into a red truck with his stepmother in their driveway at 10:13 a.m. Jan. 27, authorities said. The stepmother appears to return around 2:19 p.m. in the truck without the boy. She reported him missing just before 7 p.m. the same day, officials said.

Hundreds of community members and rescue personnel searched for the boy in several counties over the past month. Authorities received hundreds of tips from the public during the investigation.