Police say Dane Stephen Richman, 46, who was the subject of an Amber Alert for his two toddlers, abducted them from Saratoga Springs and later crossed into Mexico, where authorities are working to share the alert and locate the boys.
Saratoga Springs was already on edge when the Amber Alert went out late Saturday and early Sunday. By Sunday night, police had a warrant for the man at the center of it—Dane Stephen Richman, 46—after investigators said he took his two young boys and disappeared.
Police now say the pursuit has taken a dangerous turn: Richman, the father, fled to Mexico with the children.
The alert described the boys as in danger. Wesley Dane Richman is 10 months old. described as 2 feet 2 inches tall and about 23 pounds. with blonde or strawberry-blond hair and blue eyes. His brother. Will Thomas Richman. is 22 months old. described as 2 feet 6 inches tall and about 31 pounds. also with blonde or strawberry-blond hair and blue eyes.
Richman’s details were spelled out as well. He is 6 feet 2 inches tall, weighs about 195 pounds, and has brown hair and green eyes. The Amber Alert said his clothing description was unknown.
In court, police say the timeline tightened quickly into something far more serious. Richman was charged Sunday in 4th District Court with two counts of custodial interference, a third-degree felony.
The Amber Alert stated there was “concern for the safety and well-being of the children” because the suspect had been “seriously depressed,” had been selling possessions, was facing financial stress, and was involved in a custody dispute over the children.
Investigators described a pattern of stress and planned disappearance rather than a sudden break. Police said they believe Richman may have been planning the abduction for weeks, after investigators learned he had quit his job and had financial troubles.
The case began to surface when the boys’ mother contacted Saratoga Springs police on Friday morning to request a welfare check after Richman missed a deposition for a custody hearing scheduled for 10 a.m. that morning. Charging documents say Richman emailed his attorney that morning saying he no longer needed her services and would not attend the scheduled hearing.
Officers went to Richman’s home, but no one was there. Police said there was no cause for concern at that point. Court documents add a detail that later became central to the concern: officers noted that the home appeared to look vacant from the outside.
The mother was scheduled to pick up the children at his house at noon on Saturday. When Richman did not show up, she contacted police again at 12:35 p.m. Officers then spoke with neighbors to determine the last time Richman or the two boys were last seen.
An arrest warrant states that “No friends, family or other contacts have been able to reach Dane, including the police department attempts.”
Police also tied the disappearance to a location shift. On May 16, Richman picked the children up from their mother in Washington state for his scheduled visitation time. Police initially said the abduction occurred in Saratoga Springs, but investigators later developed evidence pointing elsewhere.
On Monday, May 18, police learned that Richman’s black 2025 Toyota Camry had some service done in Carlsbad, California—about 50 miles from the southern U.S. border. Investigators also obtained surveillance images identifying Richman in Southern California.
The court documents then tracked the final steps. Richman’s cellphone location was last reported near the Mexican border at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, May 19, and the vehicle crossed the border into Mexico later that day.
By Saturday night, the Amber Alert was pushed hard inside the U.S. Police issued it on all digital signs on Utah highways. On Sunday, an alert was issued to all cellphones in Utah at about 7:30 a.m. On Sunday night, a warrant was issued for Richman’s arrest.
In the court documents, investigators pointed to financial strain as part of the backdrop. They wrote that Richman’s financial situation was dire. including being upside down on his mortgage after he “took out an additional line of credit on the home equity.” They also wrote that Richman unexpectedly quit his job from Fibertel LLC on May 11.
Richman’s boss told police Richman said he couldn’t continue working because of ongoing legal battles with his ex-girlfriend over custody of his children. The boss also said Richman had once been a quality. hard-working. productive employee. but over the last six months had become “less reliable and more erratic.”.
Investigators wrote in the court documents that, given Richman’s financial situation and the fact that he appeared to have abandoned his house to foreclosure, “it seems that Dane has possibly been planning this attempt to kidnap the children several days if not multiple weeks in advance.”
Even details from outside the official records fed the sense that this was not a fleeting decision. A neighbor told police that Richman has a satellite phone. Family members told police Richman is “comfortable and confidence when it comes to living off of the grid.”
With the boys believed to be across the border, police say they are moving to expand the search. Police said they are in the process of having the same Amber Alerts shared throughout Mexico.
Anyone with information is urged to call police at 801-798-5600 or dial 911 immediately.
Amber Alert Saratoga Springs Mexico Dane Stephen Richman custodial interference missing children