Boy Missing Two Years Found Behind Grandmother's Wall - Alive

BENTON, Ill. - -- A boy missing for nearly two years was found hidden behind a wall inside his grandmother's house, and police arrested his mother and grandmother in connection with his disappearance.

Richard Chekevdia, who turns 7 on Sept. 14, was found Friday with his mother, Shannon Wilfong, inside a small room hidden behind a wall. The home in downstate Illinois' Franklin County contained several hiding spots, authorities said.

"It was a good day today," said Franklin County State's Attorney Tom Dinn. I had the honor of calling the father and telling him. ... He was obviously overjoyed and there was a little bit of disbelief."

The boy's father, Michael Chekevdia, said he was thrilled at his son's discovery.

"Two years? You have no idea," Chekevdia, a 48-year-old former police officer who's a lieutenant colonel in the Illinois National Guard, said Saturday. "I've lost sleep. I've lost weight. I've gained weight. I wouldn't wish this on anybody."

Illinois State Police Master Sgt. Stan Diggs said Richard "was very happy to be outside. He said he never goes outside."

"We let him out of the (patrol) car and he ran around like he'd never seen outdoors. It was actually very sad," Diggs said.

"Surprisingly," Diggs added, "Ricky is in very good spirits. For someone who's been isolated in that house with no other outside beings, he's a very social, very polite, very talkative little boy."

Wilfong, 30, is charged with felony child abduction. The grandmother, 51-year-old Diane Dobbs, is charged with aiding and abetting. Wilfong remained jailed Saturday on $42,500 bond in Benton, where Dobbs is being held on $1,000 bond.

Chekevdia won temporary custody of his son shortly before the boy and his mother -- Chekevdia's former girlfriend -- disappeared in November 2007.

Wilfong was charged with kidnapping in December 2007, but authorities couldn't find her. They suspected she was hiding in the area and searched Dobbs' home with her consent but didn't find the boy. The home is near Royalton, a small town about 120 miles southeast of St. Louis.

For much of the time, Chekevdia said, the windows of Dobbs' home were blocked off by drawn shades or other items, presumably to prevent anyone from peeking inside.

"I had a firm belief he was in there, and yesterday it was confirmed," Chekevdia said.

With the help of U.S. marshals, new evidence was found that allowed authorities to secure a search warrant to complete a more thorough search, one that didn't require Dobbs' cooperation. That search, conducted Friday, turned up Richard and his mother in a hideaway roughly 5 feet by 12 feet and about the height of a washing machine.

"We had suspicions where he might be, but we had to compile enough evidence so we could get a search warrant," Dinn said. "We were lucky to find them."

Authorities said they don't think Wilfong or the boy left the home in the time they have been sought.

The child was taken to a hospital for a checkup and was officially in the custody of the Department of Children and Family Services, who will help with his transition to his father, authorities said.

Last year, Dobbs told the Southern Illinoisan newspaper that she didn't know where her daughter and grandson were but said they had gone into hiding to protect the boy from his father. Court documents show Wilfong claimed her son had been sexually abused by Chekevdia.

Authorities said that the Department of Children and Family Services investigated the charges and ruled them unfounded.