Parents arrested for taking their kids from foster home, Lexington County sheriff says
A North Carolina man and woman are facing extradition to South Carolina for illegally taking their children from a foster home in the Midlands, according to the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department.
Asheville residents Joyce Ann Branch, 47, and David Eugene Ritchey, 48, were charged with two counts of custodial interference, the sheriff’s department said Wednesday in a news release.
“Based on communication records and information gathered during interviews, investigators have determined Branch and Ritchey circumvented the legal custody of their daughter and son when they removed them from a foster home,” Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon said in the release. “The children were in the North Carolina foster care system but had been placed in a home in Lexington County through the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children.”
The foster father reported the children missing from a Rose Hill Court home on Aug. 2, and they were located overnight on Aug. 5, the sheriff’s department said.
Branch and Ritchey concealed and transported their biological children to North Carolina, where they hid the children from legal guardians and law enforcement, the sheriff’s department said.
“Both Branch and Ritchey provided false statements about the children’s whereabouts to both their foster parents and law enforcement officers,” Koon said. “Thanks to assistance from law enforcement agencies in the Asheville area and the U.S. Marshals Service, the children were located and Branch and Ritchey were taken into custody.”
Information about the conditions of the 11-year-old girl and 15-year-old boy was not available, but no injuries were reported. There was no word where the children are currently, or who is responsible for their care.
The sheriff said Branch and Ritchey are being held in the Buncombe County, N.C., Detention Center while they await extradition to South Carolina.
Information about why Branch and Ritchey’s children were originally placed in foster care was not available.
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREThis is a breaking news story
In a breaking news situation, facts can be unclear and the situation may still be developing. The State is trying to get important information to the public as quickly and accurately as possible. This story will be updated as more information becomes available, and some information in this story may change as the facts become clearer. Refresh this page later for more updated information.
This story was originally published August 9, 2023 at 11:27 AM.
