Adrian, Michigan — The mother of three brothers who went missing the day after Thanksgiving in 2010 has asked the state to declare them legally dead.
Tanya Zuvers filed a request in Lenawee County Probate Court in December 2023 to have her sons Andrew, Alexander, and Tanner Skelton officially declared dead. A three-day probate court hearing is set to begin Monday, March 3.
(L-R) Andrew, Tanner, and Alexander Skelton. (NamUs)
Andrew, Alexander, and Tanner were last seen alive at the ages of 9, 7, and 5, respectively. The Skelton Brothers spent Thanksgiving that year with their father, John Skelton, at his Morenci home. When Tanya Zuvers, their mother, did not hear from John about a pickup time the next day, she went to his house. No one was present.
Zuyers tracked John down to a nearby hospital, where he was receiving treatment for a broken ankle. According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, he told hospital staff that he injured his ankle while attempting suicide.
John told police he gave the boys to an organization to keep them safe from Zuvers, accusing her of abuse. However, investigators have never been able to confirm the group’s existence. Police say John gave conflicting accounts of who he gave the boys to.
John is currently serving a 10-year sentence for unlawful imprisonment in connection with his sons’ disappearance, which is set to end in November 2025.
After years of searching for clues, including a possible link to bodies discovered in Montana, Zuyers says it’s time for closure.
In a previous statement about her decision to have the boys declared legally dead, she said, “It did not come easily and was definitely a difficult decision to make. No parent wants to lose a child, but having the courts declare them deceased is simply unfathomable.
“At the end of the day, one person is responsible for the disappearance of my sons,” Zuyers wrote in her letter. “That person once claimed that the boys would hibernate until graduation.
As of today, June 14, 2024, all three boys are over 18, and all would have graduated from high school, but they have not been returned to me and are still missing.”
