John Skelton, the Michigan man who was convicted of unlawfully imprisoning his three young sons who disappeared in 2010, is slated for release from prison on November 29. Skelton, now 53, has served a sentence in Bellamy Creek Correction Facility for the past 15 years. The boys, Andrew Skelton, Alexander Skelton, and Tanner Skelton, were last seen in their father's backyard in Morenci on Thanksgiving Day 2010, and despite extensive searches, they have not been found. CBS News Detroit reports that Skelton's earliest release date was initially set for November 29, 2020.
According to details shared by The Detroit News, Skelton has never been charged with killing his sons, which, in part, is because their bodies have never been recovered. Skelton entered a no-contest plea to charges of unlawful imprisonment in 2011. During a hearing in April 2025 to declare the boys dead, there was testimony of Skelton's internet searches about harmful substances and ways to cause fatal injuries, increasing the suspicion around his involvement in their disappearance.
Before their disappearance, a family dispute led to Tanya Zuvers, the mother of the boys, being granted sole custody of her sons after Skelton took them to Florida without her knowledge. According to The Detroit News, the boys' mother had been married to John Skelton since 2002, and the relationship had deteriorated in September 2010. After the boys were not returned following a Thanksgiving visitation, Zuvers contacted law enforcement, and a welfare check at John Skelton's home revealed extensive damage.
In March of this year, a judge granted Zuvers's request to declare the three boys legally dead to allow her to secure death certificates and find closure. Skelton, over the years, has provided various explanations for his sons' disappearance, including claims of their being with a group that assists at-risk children, and even implicating a man who helps people leave Amish communities. However, authorities have deemed these statements to be unsubstantiated. WILX noted that while Skelton's requests to officially acknowledge that he had killed the boys were denied by the judge.
