Desperate search for Maddox continues in North Carolina

GASTONIA, N.C. (NBC News) – The search for a 6-year-old boy who disappeared from a Gastonia, North Carolina park over the weekend has entered its fourth day.

Maddox Ritch, who is described as non-verbal and autistic, was last seen as he ran ahead of his father while they were visiting Rankin Lake Park with a friend.

A park employee called 911 to report the boy’s disappearance approximately an hour after he vanished.

Police are using recordings of his parents’ voices in an attempt to get Maddox’s attention if he’s lost in the woods.

Hundreds of law enforcement personnel are taking part in the search, leaving no stone unturned.

“We’ve searched and researched every day, with new search personnel, every piece of the property,” Gastonia Fire Department Chief Phil Welch said.

The FBI says Ian Ritch, Maddox’s father, is cooperating and retraced the path they took on Saturday.

“I could see him until a certain part and he got out of my view, and that is when I never seen him again,” Ian Ritch told Good Morning America Wednesday.

Ritch says he is heartbroken and told police that he and a friend took Maddox to the park when the boy ran after a jogger.

“Everybody looks at you as a monster, and I regretted that since the moment it happened,” he said.