Michael Anthony Hughes
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Michael Anthony Hughes (March 21, 1988 - undetermined, possibly 1994) was abducted from Indian Meridian Elementary School in Choctaw, Oklahoma (near Oklahoma City) on September 12, 1994 by Franklin Delano Floyd, who has claimed to be the the child's father. Michael has not been seen since the day he was snatched and his current whereabouts remain unknown.
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[edit] Circumstances of the abduction
Floyd entered Indian Meridian Elementary School in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on September 12, 1994 and went to the office of James Davis, the school principal, where Floyd claimed he was the father of the then six-year-old Michael, who was in First Grade. Floyd then told Davis he was armed and forced the principal to take him to Michael's classroom.
Once Michael was in his custody, Floyd forced both of him and Davis into the principal's pick-up truck and ordered him to drive out into the country. In a wooded area, Floyd handcuffed the Principal Davis to a tree and fled with the boy.
Five hours later, Principal Davis was rescued. For the next two months, there was no sign of either Franklin Floyd or Michael Hughes. Police swore out an arrest warrant on the charge of kidnapping. Finally, Floyd was arrested in Louisville, Kentucky, but the child was not with him and no trace was found of him.
Franklin Floyd is currently serving a fifty-two year prison sentence for abducting Michael.
[edit] The Mystery Deepens
Evidence emerged that Franklin Floyd may not have been who he claimed he was and, in turn, cast doubt on his parental link to Michael. In 1975, Floyd used the name 'Trenton B. Davis' while living in Oklahoma City. He was accompanised by a little girl who he stated was his daughter Sharon Marshall. Over the subsequent decade, the pair moved around under different aliases until 1988 when Sharon, then aged seventeen, gave birth to her son Michael, whom Floyd claimed as his child. Following Michael's birth, he and Sharon married despite once attesting to the fact she was his daughter.
In 1990, Sharon was murdered in a hit-and-run accident and, although Floyd was the prime suspect for the crime, he was never formally charged. He disappeared soon after Sharon 's death, leaving a two-year-old Michael in the care of social services. After being placed with foster parents, it was found Michael was developmentally delayed and prone to emotional problems although he made progress over time.
Floyd was arrested on a parole violation six months after he left Michael and a DNA test proved he could not be the boy's biological father. Despite this, Floyd demanded custody of the child when he was released from prison although his appeals were denied. It was six months after he was refused custodial rights over Michael that he abducted the child from his elementary school classroom. Police DNA tests later revealed that Sharon was not Floyd's daughter either and it was feared that she too might have been abducted by him as a child.[1].
[edit] Dead or Alive and Safe?
Government authorities have received conflicting reports as to what has happened to Hughes. Some witness statements detail an alleged confessions by Floyd regarding Michael's death. According to these reports, Floyd reportedly told his sister that he drowned the child in a Georgia motel's bathtub in 1994. Other witnesses stated that Floyd told them he murdered Michael in the same manner, while another person claimed he saw Floyd bury Michael's body in a cemetery.[2].
Other sources report that Floyd has stated, and continues to maintain, that Hughes is still alive and safe; Floyd has refused to disclose Hughes' exact location (citing vague locations such as "outside the U.S." or "in Atlanta, Georgia") or who is presently caring for him.[3].
If he were still alive, Michael would now be into adulthood.
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Birkbeck, Matt (2004-09-04). A Beautiful Child By Matt Birkbeck. A Beautiful Child. Retrieved on July 6, 2005.
- ^ National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (1994-09-12). Michael Anthony Hughes. Retrieved on February 2, 2007.
- ^ The Doe Network (2006-12-26). Case File 1061DMOK. Retrieved on February 2, 2007.
