PARKERSBURG, W.Va. — Parkersburg Police are hoping a reward will help lead to the arrest of a man wanted in the death of a baby. The Wood County grand jury Thursday handed up an indictment against Curtis Dean Richards II.
Richards was charged Aug. 6 when the one-year-old died after being in his care. He claimed the baby’s 3-year-old sibling was to blame. An autopsy didn’t back up Richards’ story, but by the time police had enough evidence to bring charges he disappeared.
Now the Wood County prosecutor and Parkersburg Police have pooled $2,000 as reward money for information leading to his arrest.
“We’re trying to provoke anybody who has exact knowledge of his location,” said Parkersburg Police Chief Joe Martin said Friday. “A lot of the information we are getting, which is still coming in on a daily basis, is still pretty stale information.”
Martin said investigators are not sure where Richards may have gone. They’ve followed up all leads, but can’t say if he’s left the area or not.
“There’s nothing that’s led us to anything locally or even regionally. We’re not ruling anything out, whether he’s in the country or our of the country or in this state or out of this state, everything is still on the table,” said Martin.
Chief Martin said since announcing the reward a number of local individuals have contacted the police department wanting to add to the total. Martin said they have to follow the proper channels to accept additional money, but expects the reward will grow since the case has touched a nerve in the community.