Rolla, Mo. —
Last year 6,423 children were reported missing in the state of Missouri according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
In 2009, 7,002 children were reported missing in Missouri. Of those children, 116 have yet to return home. Two of those children were Oliver and Wilman Midyett.
“You just pray everyday that they are all right,” the boy’s father Jason Midyett, of Rolla, said.
http://liarcatchers.com/missing_persons_investigations.html
In the early months of 2009, the Midyett boys were living with their mother, Jetta Niehouse Midyett in Dent County as their parents pursued a bitter custody battle. Jetta Midyett had accused Jason Midyett of abuse — an accusation that has not been proven. He countered that with claims that his children were kept from him for many months.
During the divorce and custody proceedings, Jason Midyett was finally able to begin bonding with his kids again as the judge ordered supervised visitation.
He used the time to bond with the boys, taking them on fishing outings and introducing them to the outdoor activities he always envisioned doing with his sons.
In the end, the judge awarded Jason Midyett custody of both boys. Jetta Midyett was given visitation rights, and was ordered to turn the children over to her now ex-husband May 28, 2009.
Jason Midyett arrived at the courthouse where he and the boys mother had agreed to meet and began to wait. He is still waiting to see his boys again. Jetta Midyett never arrived with the kids, and the trio has been missing since.
“You don’t know where to start or where to go, and you just hope that the next day something will turn up,” Jason Midyett said.
He has been scouring the country in hopes of finding his children, with the help of a private detective at times, since that spring day three years ago.
At one time he believes those efforts came very near his being reunited with the boys. Jetta Midyett has family in Texas, and was thought to have taken the boys there. An address of an apartment was found, but when Houston police arrived the apartment had been freshly cleaned, painted and moved out of.
Jason Midyett does not believe the boys are in any kind of physical danger. He, along with police, believe their mother is hiding out. He does worry about their well-being though.
“It’s the psychological harm of not having a father there that I worry about,” Jason Midyett said. “That has to affect them.”
