COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. _ The stepmother of missing Colorado Springs-area boy Gannon Stauch was arrested Monday in Myrtle Beach, S.C., on suspicion of first-degree murder, as a five-week-long search for the 11-year-old pivoted from a missing-persons case to a murder prosecution.
Authorities say the boy's remains haven't been found and declined to say how they connected Letecia Stauch to the boy's apparent death. Her arrest affidavit is under seal.
"I never thought I would be standing here _ it's a nightmare," the boy's mother, Landen Hiott, said between sobs at a press conference at which news of the arrest was announced, held noon Monday by the El Paso County Sheriff's Office at Centennial Hall in Colorado Springs.
Letecia Stauch, 36, was arrested without incident at 8 a.m. EST, according to El Paso County Sheriff Bill Elder. She will be held at the Horry County, S.C., jail until extradition to Colorado Springs, according to a Monday press release from the El Paso County Sheriff's Office.
In addition to first-degree murder, Letecia Stauch was arrested on the suspicion of child abuse resulting in death, tampering with a deceased human body and tampering with physical evidence, law enforcement officials said.
Hiott _ who, overcome with emotion, sometimes struggled to remain standing _ held hands with the boy's father, Al Stauch, as authorities announced Letecia Stauch's arrest. Although Gannon's haven't been found, police Lt. Mitch Mihalko said authorities have information expected to "narrow the search."
"Today I got the worst news and the best news," Hiott said. "Obviously we know what the worst news is. The best news is, is that justice will be served and I'll make sure that justice is served, because my boy did not deserve any of this that has happened to him."
She said she hoped Gannon's stepmom, whom Hiott said she trusted, would pay "100% for this heinous thing that she's done."
"I know where my son is at, without a shadow of a doubt," Hiott said. "So many families have been brought closer together because of this. I know my boy is special, and I have told my family and friends that Gannon has a testimony. That Gannon has a story; he is special.
"And this is his story. So, make that story magnificent ... I'm putting my trust in you to do that."
In a statement read by a spokeswoman, Gannon's father said Monday's news meant "we will never play Nintendo again, no more Taco Tuesdays," he said. " ... No more G-man for the world.
"The person who committed this heinous, horrible crime is one that I gave more to than anyone else on this planet, and I will carry that burden for a very long time. But the God I believe in is the owner and decider of justice and vengeance, and only He can repay. ...
"Gannon believed in God, and I will never stop believing."
The Sheriff's Office will continue to work closely with the 4th Judicial District Attorney's Office, the FBI and other agencies to investigate the boy's death, Mihalko said.
"One, we still want to bring Gannon home so that he can have a proper burial and his family can achieve the closure that they need," prosecutor Michael Allen said. "But we also want to hold the person that we are charging, Leteica Stauch, accountable for she did in this case."
Sheriff's Office officials declined to answer questions at the noon press conference.
Gannon was last seen five weeks ago by Letecia Stauch, who told investigators that he had walked to a friend's home nearby. No information has been released on whether the boy made it to the friend's house.
Letecia Stauch has prior addresses in Myrtle Beach, Murrells Inlet and Mount Pleasant, S.C., and in Lumberton and Pembroke N.C., according to a public records search. She has also gone by the names Hardin and Hunt.
In South Carolina, Letecia Stauch was cited with domestic violence-first offense, a misdemeanor, in November 2010, but the case was dropped.
In North Carolina, she was placed on probation in 2001 and 2002, after being cited with communicating threats in February 2001, simple assault in April 2001 and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle in June 2001, according to North Carolina state prison records. Details of those crimes, including where they were committed, weren't available.
Despite a LinkedIn profile appearing to belong to Letecia Stauch stating that she is employed as a "curriculum developer" at School District 49, she does not and has never worked for the Peyton-based district, district spokesman David Nancarrow said Monday.
"Whatever she's posted is not correct," he said. "We have no motivations for what that is."
Letecia Stauch received a Colorado license to teach elementary school, special education and secondary social studies in March 2019, according to the Colorado Department of Education.
She accused Hiott of contributing to what she called "harassment and retaliation" when she worked for seven days as a middle school social studies teacher in Marion County School District in South Carolina.
The South Carolina Board of Education suspended her educator certification to teach in May 2016 for six months for "breach of contract in abandoning her teaching duties" with the district.
Letecia Stauch had signed an annual contract with the Marion County School District on June 24, 2015, and had also signed a contract to teach in Charleston, S.C., for the same time period, according to court documents. She indicated she left because she experienced "harassment and retaliation at requesting to be released from her contract due to a pending military move," which she said was denied.
Letecia Stauch alleged that the harassment and retaliation were due to the district's superintendent's niece being her husband's ex-wife, Hiott.
She threatened to file an equal-opportunity complaint unless she was released from her contract.
"The harassment and retaliation claim was investigated and remains unsubstantiated," the order of suspension concluded.
Letecia Stauch's certification was suspended for six months in South Carolina. There is no evidence it was reinstated.
Gannon's disappearance was initially treated as a runaway. Two days later, sheriff's officials referred to him as a missing and endangered child, which allowed them to call on the resources of the FBI and nationwide missing children organizations.
In the weeks since, the search for the missing boy moved north of the El Paso County border, to southern Douglas County.
Crews were seen in videotaped footage throwing snow against a sifter, as if searching for small items.
Searchers most recently probed an area near Colorado 105 and Colorado 83, the El Paso County Sheriff's Office said Saturday.
If convicted, Letecia Stauch faces life in prison.
