A New York missing-child case that stretched for more than a year came to a close this month after authorities found 12-year-old King Richards safe and arrested his father, Dwight C. Richards. Police say the boy had been missing since March 2025, when he was allegedly taken during a custody-related court proceeding and not returned as ordered.
According to the New Rochelle Police Department, King was reported missing by his mother after the custody dispute escalated into a long search. At the time of his disappearance, he was 11 years old. Investigators said his father, Dwight Richards, failed to bring him back to court, even after a judge-issued mandate required him to produce the child.
The case moved from a family court matter into a criminal investigation when authorities said Richards remained in violation of the court order. In July 2025, after he allegedly failed to bring King to court, a warrant was issued for his arrest. Police continued working the case for months as King’s whereabouts remained unknown.
Detectives eventually developed leads that brought them to the Bronx, where Richards was arrested on June 15, 2026. Police said King was not with him at the time of the arrest, but after Richards was taken into custody, he helped facilitate the child’s return to the New Rochelle Police Department.
King was evaluated after being recovered and was found to be in good health. He was then brought to New Rochelle Family Court and reunited with his mother, who had been granted full custody while he was missing. For authorities, the safe recovery of the child ended a long period of uncertainty for his family and the community.
Richards, 54, has been charged with second-degree criminal contempt and a violation connected to the Family Court Act. Prosecutors said the case is being handled by the Child Abuse Bureau within the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office, and court records cited by reports say Richards has pleaded not guilty.
The case now moves forward in court, but the most urgent question has been answered: King Richards is alive, safe, and back with his mother. For investigators, the case stands as a reminder that custody disputes can become criminal matters when court orders are ignored and a child is kept from the parent legally granted custody.
