Draft:Joshua Maddux



Joshua Maddux (March 9, 1990–2008) was an 18 year old boy who disappeared on May 8, 2008. His body was found seven years later in a chimney of a vacant cabin on August 7, 2015. His death was ruled out as accidental by unknown cause, as there weren't any signs of trauma, broken bones or bullet wounds. Al Born, the county coroner at the time, believed the teenager climbed into the chimney and got stuck, perishing from either hypothermia or a lack of water and food. Joshua's body was identified through dental records.

Early life
Maddux lived in Woodland Park, a small city with a population of almost 8.000 people, in Teller County, Colorado. His mother and father were divorced and Josh lived with his father Mike and two sisters Kate and Ruth. He was described by his relatives as a bright, a talented musician, despite being deeply affected by his brother Zachary's suicide in 2006.

Disappearance
On May 8, 2008 Joshua left for a walk, which wasn't unusual, as the teen liked nature, and never came back. "The next day he still didn't come home. I called all his friends. Nobody's seen him. Nobody knows where he is", his father said, "I didn't know what to do so I called the police. He went missing on May 8 and I called police May 13, 2008.'' Because Joshua was 18 at the time he vanished, police said there was no reason to suspect a crime, so he was listed as missing.

During his disappearance, his family remained hopeful. "Josh was a free spirit, and he always told us that he was going to have a great adventure and he may not talk to us for a while," said Josh's older sister, Kate Maddux. "When he said awhile, we thought maybe a few years."

Joshua's body was found after seven years after the disappearance, in the chimney of an abandoned house in 2015. After comparing dental records with the body's teeth, Joshua Maddux was recognized.

After the discovery and identification of the body, Joshua's family said to be relieved. "At least now we have some closure and can give him the proper burial that he deserves," said Ruth Maddux. "We can stop looking for him now. It's not what we wanted, obviously, he wanted him to come home. But at least now we can stop looking."

"It's been very awful" Kate Maddux said. "It's a nightmare I wouldn't wish upon anyone"

Andrew Richard Newman
A popular theory about Joshua's disappearance and death is that the boy was killed by a classmate, Andrew R. Newman. This theory was first proposed by a reddit user, who claimed to have been one of Joshua's classmates and friends. Apparently, Andy also bragged about having "put Josh in a hole". Not a lot can be found about Andrew on the internet, expect for multiple arrest reports with mugshots that include charges such as assault on a police officer, disorderly intoxication and grand theft. Newman was also suspected of murder, and is currently serving time. The reddit user cited some details about the case that he thought were strange. One of those was that during the construction of the cabin, the chimney was fitted with a thick wire mesh hung from steel hooks to keep animals and debris from becoming lodged inside the chimney or from entering the cabin itself. This mesh was not found during investigations.

Chuck Murphy, the owner of the cabin, said, "It was a heavy wire grate, a wire mesh. I installed it across the chimney, about one row of bricks from the top. We didn't want trouble with raccoons and things getting into the chimney."

Also, Josh's body had been found wearing only a thin thermal shirt, naked from the waist down, and climbing down a chimney half naked would have been certainly a weird decision.