Man charged with 2 counts of interfering with child custody following Amber Alert
Courtesy: Barron County Sheriff's Department
The 30-year-old man who was the focus of an Amber Alert in Wisconsin last week is now being held in the Ashland County Jail, according to records.
Two children, ages 3 and 6, were found with the suspect, according to authorities. Both children were checked out at the hospital before being reunited with their families.
“A lot of times we don’t get good news in law enforcement, you celebrate the wins,” said Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald.
Gage Ryon Ackley-Dechant of Drummond, Wisconsin, was formally charged on Thursday. A future court date has yet to be scheduled as of this publishing.
As previously reported by 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS, the alert issued on Wednesday was made after the Barron County Sheriff’s Office received information from the Ashland Police Department around 3:30 p.m. that day saying the two children had been abducted and may be located near Haugen.
The criminal complaint states Ackley-Dechant is the biological father of one of the kids, and “has a stepfather-like relation” with the other child. It adds the mother told police on Wednesday that she had asked Ackley-Dechant to return the kids after they had been with him since Sept. 20. The document goes on to say the mother had asked Ackley-Dechant to do so on Tuesday, and he allegedly told her in a text message that “he had some business to take care of” around 5 p.m. that day.
The mother told police she sent multiple follow-up messages, which weren’t answered, and at 8 p.m. that same day, the mother said both children must be returned. Ackley-Dechant refused to respond, according to the complaint.
Law enforcement found the children at a gas station in the Barronett area and made an arrest. On Friday, Ackley-Dechant was returned to Ashland County to face two charges of interfering with child custody.
If convicted, Ackley-Dechant faces a maximum sentence of 16 years in prison and a fine of up to $35,000.
Barron County sheriff’s deputies, the Washburn County Sheriff’s Office, the Wisconsin Department of Criminal Investigation and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources were involved in the search.