Asheville couple charged after taking kids from foster care, hiding them from law enforcement, deputies say

By A.J. Davis

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    LEXINGTON, South Carolina (WYFF) — An Asheville couple has been charged after being accused of taking their kids away from a foster home, according to Lexington County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies say Joyce Ann Branch, 47, of Asheville, and David Eugene Ritchey, 48, of Asheville, took their 15-year-old son and 11-year-old daughter from their foster parents and took them to North Carolina.

Branch and Ritchey proceeded to hide their children from legal guardians and law enforcement while in North Carolina, according to deputies.

“Based on communication records and information gathered during interviews, investigators have determined Branch and Ritchey circumvented the legal custody of their daughter and son when they removed them from a foster home,” Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon said. “The children were in the North Carolina foster care system but had been placed in a home in Lexington County through the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children.”

According to deputies, Branch and Ritchey have been charged with two counts of custodial interference, according to arrest warrants.

“Both Branch and Ritchey provided false statements about the children’s whereabouts to both their foster parents and law enforcement officers,” Koon said. “Thanks to assistance from law enforcement agencies in the Asheville area and the U.S. Marshals Service, the children were located and Branch and Ritchey were taken into custody.”

Koon said Branch and Ritchey are being held in the Buncombe County Detention Center while they await trial in South Carolina.

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