Officials say reported sighting was not missing Northland boy and his father

A reported sighting of James Nordrum Jr. and his son, Wyatt, in the Twin Cities area was dismissed by the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office on Friday afternoon.

“It has been confirmed that the male and child seen in the photos are not James and Wyatt,” the sheriff’s office announced in a news release.

After receiving the tip, investigators in the missing-child case worked with the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office to obtain surveillance video from a business in East Bethel, Minn. Stills were made and pictures of the man and child in question were shown to the father’s family and the family of Wyatt’s mother, Candice Nordrum.

James Nordrum Jr., 41, and Wyatt, 7, were named in a statewide alert March 27 when the father did not show up at the St. Louis County Courthouse to turn custody over to his estranged wife.

Police initially searched family homes in the Brookston area and took to the air this week. No evidence of the whereabouts of the two has been found.

The case gained national attention Thursday evening when it was featured on the Headline News program hosted by Nancy Grace.

The sheriff’s office is seeking the public’s help in finding the pair and tips are being taken at (218) 336-4350. The case is also part of the statewide Crime Stoppers network and information can be sent via its web page, www.crimestoppersmn.org, or by calling (800) 222-8477. A $1,000 reward is being offered for information that leads police to the father and son.

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