Dad of 3 missing Mich. boys arraigned

ADRIAN, Mich. (AP) - A 39-year-old father blamed for the disappearance of his three missing sons appeared via video in a Michigan courtroom for the first time Wednesday to face kidnapping charges.

Sitting in a wheelchair, John Skelton appeared in court by video from the Lenawee County jail, where he was lodged after waiving extradition Tuesday in Ohio. The unemployed truck driver said he understood the charges and couldn't afford to hire his own attorney.

John Glaser, the lawyer appointed to represent Skelton, did not immediately respond to a phone message Wednesday seeking comment.

Skelton's sons -- Andrew, 9, Alexander, 7, and Tanner, 5 -- were last seen on Thanksgiving playing in the backyard of their father's home in Morenci, a town about 70 miles southwest of Detroit on the Michigan-Ohio border.

Police say Skelton tried to hang himself the next day, and made up a story about having first given the boys to a female friend to give to their mother.

Hundreds of searchers spent days combing the countryside on both sides of the border but found no trace of the boys.

"It's hard to sleep at night not knowing where they are," said Jodi Perez, 39, who doesn't know the family but attended the brief arraignment.

Another courtroom spectator, Chelsea Bixler, 20, said pictures of the boys are posted at a gas station where she works.

"So many people come in and ask if there are any updates," she said.

District Court Judge James Sheridan scheduled a Dec. 28 hearing to determine if there's probable cause to order a trial on parental kidnapping charges. The charge is defined as keeping a child more than 24 hours with the intent of concealing the child from the other parent. The maximum penalty is a year and a day in custody.

John and Tanya Skelton were going through a divorce when the boys disappeared.

John Skelton remains in jail on $30 million bond. He was in custody for two weeks in Lucas County, Ohio, after his release there from a medical facility where he was treated for his alleged suicide attempt.