Utah father arrested after boys found safe in Mexico amid Amber Alert
A 22-month-old and a 10-month-old were found safe in San Felipe, Mexico, after a Utah AMBER Alert led investigators across the border and to their father’s arrest.
A 22-month-old and a 10-month-old vanished in Utah, then resurfaced safe in San Felipe, Mexico, after an international search ended with their father in custody. Dane Stephen Richman, 46, now faces two felony custodial-interference charges.
Police said Will Richman, 22 months old, and Wesley Richman, 10 months old, were last seen with their father on May 16, 2026. Utah authorities issued an AMBER Alert on Saturday, May 23, and it remained active into Sunday, May 24, as investigators worked to trace the boys and the man they believed had taken them.
The case moved fast. Saratoga Springs police said Richman had quit his job, abandoned his home, sold most of his possessions and fired his attorney before failing to appear for a scheduled hearing tied to a custody dispute. Investigators also said his cellphone was last logged near the Mexico border on May 19, and his vehicle crossed into Mexico later that same day. By Tuesday evening, May 26, the boys were found safe in San Felipe and the alert was canceled after Richman was arrested.
Lizzie Tomich, the boys’ mother, appeared in a plea video urging the public to help spread the word as the search widened. Her attorney argued that the custody agreement did not allow Richman to take the children across state lines, a point that became central as police described the case as a possible planned abduction rather than a sudden disappearance.
Utah’s AMBER Alert system is reserved for cases in which police believe a child has been abducted, is 17 or younger, faces imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death, and there is information that could help the public recover the child or identify a suspect. Federal law also treats international parental kidnapping as a crime under 18 U.S.C. Section 1204, and the FBI says it works such cases with U.S. and foreign law-enforcement partners.
After the recovery in Mexico, the case shifted from a frantic search to felony charges and custody proceedings. For now, the boys are safe, the alert is over, and the father accused of taking them is facing the next round of court action.
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