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Gannon Stauch: What we know two weeks since the 11-year-old went missing from Colorado Springs home

Monday marks two weeks since Colorado Springs-area boy Gannon Stauch, 11, went missing from his home in Lorson Ranch, at the southeast edge of Colorado Springs.

The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office has classified him as a missing endangered child, and the investigation is not criminal, according to law enforcement officials.

Here is what we know so far:

– Gannon was reportedly last seen Jan. 27 by his stepmother, Letecia Stauch, who told investigators the boy left for a friend’s house between 3:15 and 4 p.m. and didn’t return home.

– Gannon is 4’9″ with brown hair and brown eyes and weighs 90 pounds. He was last seen wearing a blue jacket and jeans.

– Gannon did not attend school the day he disappeared, according to law enforcement officials. Gannon attends an elementary school in the Widefield School District, a spokeswoman for the school told The Gazette.

– The Sheriff’s Office’s Major Crimes Unit was called in to assist with the case on Jan. 28. Before then, Gannon was classified as a runaway.

– In an interview with The Gazette, Gannon’s great aunt, Veronica Birkenstock, characterized the boy as “a very loving child. Disappearing is totally out of his character; he always has to be with somebody.” She added that Gannon was a born a low-birth weight “micropreemie.”

– Landen Hiott, Gannon’s biological mother, arrived in Colorado Springs from South Carolina late on the evening of Jan. 28 and spent the night talking to law enforcement, Birkenstock said.

– Gannon’s father, Albert Stauch, is a member of the Colorado Springs-based Colorado Army National Guard 100th Missile Defense Brigade, the Guard confirmed to The Gazette. The boy’s father was away on military training at the time of the disappearance, Birkenstock said. The Guard would not confirm this detail.

– Albert and Hiott, share custody of the boy, Birkenstock said.

– Gannon’s status was upgraded to a missing endangered child on Jan. 30 due to his age, need for medication, winter weather and the length of time he’s been missing.

– An initial report that the boy was last seen at the Kum & Go on Mesa Ridge Parkway near Fountain was incorrect, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Upon reviewing surveillance footage the day after he was reported missing, Gannon’s stepmother said the boy suspected to be Gannon was not him, according to law enforcement officials.

– In a Jan. 31 interview with Gazette news partner KKTV, Letecia claimed she was initially denied her request for a lawyer by Sheriff’s Office detectives.

– Letecia also said that her 17-year-old daughter was briefly put in handcuffs when detectives pulled over their vehicle Jan. 30. She claims deputies had guns drawn and told her they were going to shoot her without identifying themselves as law enforcement officers. A spokeswoman for the sheriff’s office would not comment on the claims, citing the ongoing investigation.

– Foul play is not suspected, and the investigation is not a criminal one, investigators said.

– On Feb. 2, incident command moved from the neighborhood to the Sheriff’s Office Training Facility, located across the street from the El Paso County Jail, “based on information gathered from the investigation,” according to the Sheriff’s Office.

– On Feb. 5, Fourth Judicial District Attorney Dan May visited Gannon’s home. Authorities quickly squelched speculation criminal charges are imminent.

– The Sheriff’s Office’s Crime Lab has been present at Gannon’s home on multiple occasions as “evidence is collected and processed,” according to the agency.

– On Feb. 7, a “remote-operated vehicle with sonar and video” was used to look for evidence in a small pond near the boy’s home.

Those with any information on Gannon Stauch are asked to call the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office at 719-520-6666.

Gannon Stauch was reportedly last seen between 3:15 and 4 p.m. Monday at his home in the Lorson Ranch neighborhood of Colorado Springs. ((Courtesy of El Paso County Sheriff's Office))
Gannon Stauch was reportedly last seen between 3:15 and 4 p.m. Monday at his home in the Lorson Ranch neighborhood of Colorado Springs. ((Courtesy of El Paso County Sheriff’s Office))
The slogan on many of the posters for missing boy, Gannon Stauch, is “Leave no stone unturned.” The search for the boy intensified over the weekend with searchers using everything from drones to horses to search the area. At 2 p.m. on Sunday, the decision was made to move Incident Command from the Restoration Church near Lorson Ranch to the Sheriff’s Office Training Facility at 2743 E. Las Vegas Street. (Photo by Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette) (JERILEE BENNETT, THE GAZETTE)
The slogan on many of the posters for missing boy, Gannon Stauch, is “Leave no stone unturned.” The search for the boy intensified over the weekend with searchers using everything from drones to horses to search the area. At 2 p.m. on Sunday, the decision was made to move Incident Command from the Restoration Church near Lorson Ranch to the Sheriff’s Office Training Facility at 2743 E. Las Vegas Street. (Photo by Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette) (JERILEE BENNETT, THE GAZETTE)
A box of tissues sits on the sidewalk full of messages and in front of a large sign to
A box of tissues sits on the sidewalk full of messages and in front of a large sign to “Pray for Gannon” at the entrance for Lorson Ranch on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2020. Searchers spent the weekend combing the surrounding areas of Lorson Ranch in hopes of finding Gannon or possibly clues to his disappearance. (Photo by Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette) (JERILEE BENNETT THE GAZETTE)


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