SARATOGA SPRINGS, Utah ( KSL) “ A Saratoga Springs man who was the focus of a weekend Amber Alert appears to have abducted his two young boys and fled to Mexico, police say.
Investigators say the man just quit his job, had financial troubles, was in a custody dispute over the children, and may have been planning the abduction for weeks.
Police issued an Amber Alert late Saturday and early Sunday, saying the two boys — ages 10 months and 22 months — are in danger and were taken by their father, Dane Stephen Richman, 46, of Saratoga Springs.
He was charged Sunday in 4th District Court with two counts of custodial interference, a third-degree felony.
“There is concern for the safety and well-being of the children as the suspect has been seriously depressed, selling possessions, facing financial stress, and abandoned his home,” the Amber Alert states.
On May 16, Richman picked the children up from their mother in Washington state for his scheduled visitation time, though police initially said the abduction occurred in Saratoga Springs.
On Friday morning, the children’s mother contacted Saratoga Springs police to request a welfare check after the father missed a deposition for a custody hearing scheduled that morning at 10 a.m. Richman had emailed his attorney that morning that he no longer needed her services and wouldn’t be attending the scheduled hearing, according to charging documents.
Officers then visited Richman’s home, but no one was there. Police said there was no cause for concern at that point. Court documents, however, indicate that “officers noted that the home appeared to look vacant from the outside.”
The mother was scheduled to pick up the children at his house at noon on Saturday, but when he didn’t show up, she contacted police again at 12:35 p.m. Officers began talking to neighbors to determine the last time Richman or the two boys were last seen.
“No friends, family or other contacts have been able to reach Dane, including the police department attempts,” an arrest warrant states.
Police learned that on Monday, May 18, Richman’s black 2025 Toyota Camry had some service done in Carlsbad, California, about 50 miles from the southern U.S. border. Investigators also obtained surveillance images that identified Richman in Southern California, according to the charges.
Richman’s cellphone location was last reported near the Mexican border at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, May 19, and the vehicle crossed the border into Mexico later that day, the charges say.
Late Saturday, police issued an Amber Alert on all digital signs on Utah highways. An alert was issued to all cellphones in Utah about 7:30 a.m. Sunday. On Sunday night, a warrant was issued for Richman’s arrest.
“As detectives have continued to investigate this case, they have learned that (Richman’s) financial situation was dire, including being upside down on his mortgage after it ap
pears that he took out an additional line of credit on the home equity,” according to court documents. Richman also unexpectedly quit his job from Fibertel LLC on May 11.
Richman’s boss said he told him he was unable to continue working because of ongoing legal battles with his ex-girlfriend over the custody of his children. The boss also noted that Richman “had originally been a quality hard working productive employee, but that over the last six months had become less reliable and more erratic,” the warrant states.
“Given Dane’s financial situation as well as the fact that he appears to have abandoned his house to foreclosure, it seems that Dane has possibly been planning this attempt to kidnap the children several days if not multiple weeks in advance,” investigators wrote in the court documments.
A neighbor told police that Richman has a satellite phone and family members said Richman is “comfortable and confidence when it comes to living off of the grid.”
Police said they are in the process of having the same Amber Alerts shared throughout Mexico.
Richman is 6 feet 2 inches tall, weighs about 195 pounds, and has brown hair and green eyes, according to the alert. Authorities said his clothing description was unknown.
The missing children are Wesley Dane Richman, a 10-month-old boy described as 2 feet 2 inches and weighing about 23 pounds with blonde or strawberry-blond hair and blue eyes, and Will Thomas Richman, 22 months old, who is described as 2 feet 6 inches, weighing about 31 pounds with blonde or strawberry-blond hair and blue eyes.
Anyone with information is urged to call police at 801-798-5600 or dial 911 immediately.”
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