It’s been nearly 15 years since three young brothers from a small Michigan town disappeared, and now their mother is asking a judge to officially declare them dead. The case of Andrew, Alexander, and Tanner Skelton has haunted the community of Morenci, Michigan, since Thanksgiving 2010, and the mystery of what happened to them remains unsolved.
The boys’ father, John Skelton, was the last person to see them. After spending Thanksgiving with him, they were supposed to return to their mother, Tanya Zuvers, the next day — but they never did. Despite years of searches and investigations, the brothers were never found. Authorities believe the boys are no longer alive, and they suspect Skelton knows what happened, though he’s never been charged with their deaths.
Skelton is currently serving a 15-year prison sentence for refusing to return the boys to their mother. He’s expected to be released later this year, but that’s the only conviction tied to the case.
On Monday, a judge in Lenawee County will hear testimony from Zuvers and police investigators in a rare court hearing. This could finally lead to an official declaration that the boys are deceased — a painful but necessary step for their family.
For years, Zuvers has hoped for answers — some kind of closure, some kind of truth. But those answers never came. In a court filing, her lawyer, R. Burke Castleberry, said her heartbreak has only deepened over time.
Legal experts say there are many reasons to declare someone dead in a case like this. It can provide emotional closure for the family and also open legal doors, like the ability to pursue wrongful death claims.
Skelton, now 53, hasn’t spoken publicly about the petition and didn’t respond to an email sent to him in prison.
The Skelton brothers were just 9, 7, and 5 when they vanished. They lived in Morenci, a close-knit community near the Ohio border, about 100 miles southwest of Detroit. At the time, their parents were going through a divorce. On Thanksgiving, they spent the holiday with their father just a few doors down from their mom’s house — and then they were gone.
Early the next morning, police tracked Skelton’s phone moving from Michigan into Ohio before it was turned off and then turned back on back in Morenci hours later. Despite mounting suspicion, Skelton always denied harming his sons. He claimed they were handed over to an underground group for their safety — one of many strange and unproven stories investigators dismissed.
Search teams scoured woods and waterways across Michigan and Ohio, but no trace of the boys was ever found. At one point, Skelton even suggested a man who helps people leave Amish communities might know where they were — but that turned out to be another false lead.
During the court hearing, investigators are expected to reveal more about the wild and misleading stories Skelton told over the years — lies they say only complicated their search for the truth.
Though time has passed, the Skelton brothers haven’t been forgotten. In Morenci, a memorial plaque with their names and photos stands near a park, reminding the town of three little boys who disappeared without a trace. The plaque reads, “Faith, Hope, Love” — words the community still holds onto as they wait for answers.
