Authorities say a Saratoga Springs father at the center of a weekend Amber Alert likely took his two young sons across the border into Mexico. Police identified the suspect as Dane Stephen Richman, 46, and said the case involves two boys, ages 10 months and 22 months, who were considered in danger.
Investigators said Richman had financial problems, was involved in a custody dispute, and may have planned the abduction for weeks. He was charged Sunday in 4th District Court with two counts of custodial interference, which are third-degree felonies.
How the case unfolded
Police first issued the Amber Alert late Saturday and early Sunday after the boys were reported missing. The alert said Richman took the children and that concerns grew because he had been seriously depressed, selling possessions, facing financial stress, and had left his home.
According to police, the children had been picked up on May 16 from their mother in Washington state for a scheduled visitation period. That detail later became central to the investigation as officers worked to track the father and the boys after he missed a custody-related deposition.
On Friday morning, the mother called Saratoga Springs police and asked for a welfare check after Richman failed to appear at the 10 a.m. deposition. Charging documents say he emailed his attorney that same morning to say he no longer needed her services and would not attend the hearing.
Officers then went to his home, but no one was there. Court documents said the house appeared vacant from the outside, though police said at the time there was no immediate reason for alarm.
Signs of planning
The situation escalated when the boys were not returned on Saturday at noon as expected. The mother called police again at 12:35 p.m., and officers began speaking with neighbors to determine when Richman and the children were last seen.
Investigators later learned that no friends, family members, or other contacts could reach him, and police also could not make contact. Court documents say Richman had recently quit his job at Fibertel LLC, and his boss told investigators that he said he could not continue because of ongoing legal fights over custody.
The warrant also says Richman had become less reliable and more erratic over the previous six months, even though he had once been described as a productive worker. Investigators wrote that his financial condition appeared severe, including being underwater on his mortgage after taking out an additional line of credit on the home equity.
Based on those details, officers said it appeared he may have been planning to take the children for days or even several weeks. A neighbor told police he had a satellite phone, and family members said he was comfortable living off the grid.
Track to the border
Investigators said Richman’s black 2025 Toyota Camry received service in Carlsbad, California, on Monday, about 50 miles from the southern U.S. border. Surveillance images also placed him in Southern California, according to the charges.
Police said his cellphone was last detected near the Mexican border at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, and the vehicle crossed into Mexico later that day. Authorities then began working to have the same Amber Alerts shared in Mexico.
Richman is described as 6 feet 2 inches tall, about 195 pounds, with brown hair and green eyes. The alert did not include a clothing description, and police said the boys’ father was believed to have fled with the children.
The missing children are Wesley Dane Richman, 10 months old, about 2 feet 2 inches tall and weighing around 23 pounds, with blonde or strawberry-blond hair and blue eyes, and Will Thomas Richman, 22 months old, about 2 feet 6 inches tall and weighing around 31 pounds, also with blonde or strawberry-blond hair and blue eyes.
Anyone with information has been asked to call police at 801-798-5600 or dial 911 immediately.
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