Stepmom of missing Colorado boy arrested on murder charge in South Carolina, cops say
The stepmom of an 11-year-old missing in Colorado was arrested in South Carolina and now faces a murder charge, police say.
Officials from the FBI and the El Paso (Colorado) Sheriff’s Office announced the arrest of Leticia Stauch during a Monday press conference streamed by various news outlets. Stauch’s stepson, Gannon, went missing from the Colorado Springs area five-weeks ago.
Police from Colorado, Myrtle Beach, Horry County and the Horry County Sheriff’s Office arrested Stauch without incident on Monday morning, El Paso County Sheriff Bill Elder said.
Police have yet to say where in Myrtle Beach the 8 a.m. arrest happened.
Stauch faces charges of first-degree murder, child abuse resulting in death, tampering with a deceased body and tampering of physical evidence. She faces life in prison if convicted.
Elder said Stauch will be held in J. Reuben Long Detention Center pending an extradition hearing. She has yet to appear in the public mugshots from the Horry County jail.
Elder said police have not found Gannon’s remains, but continue to search. El Paso Deputy Lt. Mitch Mihalko said based on the charges they do not believe Gannon is still alive.
“I can not stress what a difficult time this has been for Gannon’s family,” Elder said.
Landen Hiott, Gannon’s biological mom, said the ordeal has been a nightmare.
“Today I got the worst news and the best news,” she said at a press conference in Colorado. “I will make sure justice is served.”
Myrtle Beach area ties
Leticia Stauch has several ties to the Grand Strand area, including serving as a teacher. Grand Strand News Alliance partners WPDE also reported Gannon Stauch was from the Horry County area.
According to a Tecia Stauch LinkedIn page, she was a teacher in Horry County from October 2010 to 2015. Horry County Schools spokeswoman Letecia Stauch worked as a para-professional in Horry County schools from November 2010 until 2012. From 2012 to June 2015 she worked as a special education teacher.
Though Stauch also listed working for a Colorado School District though a spokesperson told the Colorado Spring Gazette that despite Stauch listing she worked for the district, she never has.
Stauch also had her teaching license suspended in 2015 after she failed to show for work to start the school year in Marion County. The state school board revoked her license for 180 days, according to court records. Stauch said she didn’t show because of harassment and retaliation related to her husband’s pending military move.
This story was originally published March 2, 2020 at 1:41 PM.
