Gannon Stauch’s father releases statement after remains found

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- Restoration Church has released a statement on behalf of Al Stauch, the father of 11-year-old Gannon Stauch. Gannon's remains are believed to have been recovered Friday in the Florida panhandle.

The church released the following statement Sunday on behalf of Al:

I would like to take this opportunity to reach out to the community here in Colorado and all over the nation to express my deepest gratitude and true heartfelt appreciation for the overwhelming support.

Many of you have either requested or inquired about information from me or interaction with me throughout these past two months. As you can tell from the initial missing child report, to the arrest and charges in early March, and now the wonderful, yet gut-wrenching news that Gannon's body has been recovered, this has been a heartbreaking and absolutely devastating time period in my life.

I am a very private person anyways, but balancing my desire to show my great appreciation and my need to cope with the continually evolving devastation has not been easy. I thank each member of the community and media that has respected my privacy and need to process everything that has happened.

Those who I have personally trusted with information in the public have respected my privacy in an epic manner, and to those one to two people I owe you a lifelong debt of gratitude. If there is any question about whom I trust, take a look at who releases this statement. Anyone else is simply using me, my precious, heartbroken daughter, and my loving family as fodder for their personal agenda, which is absolutely despicable.

To those who are loving, supportive, and peaceful, thank you a million times over and God bless you all. I will more than likely not give any public interviews or statements until the end of the case, but I thank you all in advance for respecting my approach.

Al Stauch