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\"Maddox was my only child and he will be the only one I will ever have,\" Ritch wrote on Facebook Thursday. \"Today I found out I'm not a dad anymore.\"

Ian Ritch had said his son had started sprinting roughly 25 to 30 feet ahead of him before the little boy ran out of sight.

\"As soon as I got to the point where I couldn’t see him anymore, I started panicking,\" he said earlier this week.

\"I would give anything to go back and save him,\" Ritch wrote on Facebook Thursday. \"For the rest of my life i will live with the guilt of not being there to save my son. ... hug ur[sic] children tighter and please don't make my mistake and let them get too far away.\"

\"PHOTO:
WSOC
PHOTO: Maddox Ritch, who is described as nonverbal and seen here in this undated photo, was walking near a North Carolina lake when he disappeared, Sept. 22, 2018.
>

Ritch in his statement also thanked those who scoured the park and \"everyone in the community that were hoping and praying and just took one second of their time to think about Maddox.\"

The search for 6-year old Maddox Ritch is leaving no place unchecked. Gaston County Police went down a man-hole just to be sure. #FindMaddox. Call the tip line! We desperately need to hear from those in the park on Saturday. 704-869-1075. pic.twitter.com/BiIUHfoftn

— FBI Charlotte (@FBICharlotte) September 26, 2018

Ritch wrote that he had never been a very spiritual person, but now wants to be so that when he dies Maddox \"will be the first person I see when I get into heaven. I cant waitto[sic] see his lil[sic] smiling face again.

He ended the statement saying, \"To Maddox I just want to say I love u[sic] lil[sic] buddy. Please be waiting for me when my time comes.\"

After Maddox disappeared, a park employee called 911, sparking a massive search by local, state and federal investigators. They scoured the land with police dogs, searched dumpsters, waded through the park's lake using sonar and divers and scanned the area with helicopters and drones, police said.

A search dog from the @MissingKids are working hard to #FindMaddox. Call the @GPDNC tip line! We desperately need to hear from those in the park on Saturday. 704-869-1075. pic.twitter.com/9xi2PuTHzs

— FBI Charlotte (@FBICharlotte) September 26, 2018

A search dog from the @MissingKids inside drainage pipes. We are searching everywhere possible to #FindMaddox. Call the @GPDNC tip line! We desperately need to hear from those in the park on Saturday. 704-869-1075. pic.twitter.com/A66XksUEhC

— FBI Charlotte (@FBICharlotte) September 26, 2018

Authorities also recorded messages from Maddox's parents and played those messages in the woods in the hopes that their voices might persuade him to come out if he was there.

\"Maddox is my whole world and my reason for living,\" his mother, Carrie Ritch, said at a press conference Tuesday.

\"I want my baby back in my arms,\" she said through tears.

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