Corona Parents Charged With Child Cruelty as Search Continues for Missing 8-Year-Old Boy: DA

The parents of a Corona boy who vanished two weeks ago have been charged as a desperate search for their missing 8-year-old son continued on Friday, officials said.

Bryce McIntosh, 32, and Jillian Godfrey, 36, were each charged with a single count of willful child cruelty, according to John Hall, the spokesman for the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office. They appeared in court, but their arraignments were postponed. McIntosh and Godfrey were arrested this week on suspicion of child abuse after their son, Noah McIntosh, disappeared, according to the Corona Police Department. The child was last seen in the 4600 block of Temescal Canyon Road roughly two weeks ago. His grandfather, Doug Godfrey, told KTLA on Friday that he’s lost all hope the boy is still alive. “I just about cried myself out,” he said through tears, one hand covering his eyes. “I know he suffered.” Speaking from his home in Anaheim, his voice at times choked with emotion, Doug said he and his wife raised the boy for more than seven years. He described Noah as a bright student, a beloved grandson and a kind brother who adored his older sister. Godfrey believes his grandson is dead. He says the boy’s father has refused to cooperate with officials and is angry about that. “I know he has a violent temper,” Doug Godfrey told KTLA. “I think something maybe got out of hand.”

Godfrey is adamant his daughter Jillian would not never harm Noah, but wishes he’d done more to protect the little boy. In the past, he says he reported McIntosh to child protective services for alleged abuse and fought for full custody of both children. “I’m so upset. If I had any right at all, Noah would be alive, he’d be here right now and you guys would be able to see what a great kid he is,” Doug Godfrey said. “But now we’ve lost him. And there is no hope.” Jillian called police on Tuesday night and asked them to check on Noah after — according to her parents — the child’s father wouldn’t let her see him. Officers were unable to contact McIntosh at his residence despite numerous attempts to do so, police said. They believe he was inside the home at the time. After obtaining a search warrant at the residence, a SWAT team made entry the following morning and found the man and his 11-year-old daughter. However, police were unable to locate Noah. During the course of the investigation, authorities said they developed enough information to arrest McIntosh and Godfrey. “Information was … presented to us that led us to believe the child abuse was occurring to Noah over a certain time period. I don’t know what that time period is. So the detectives believe that they had probable cause to arrest both parents for child abuse,” Corona Officer Tobias Kouroubacalis told KTLA on Thursday. He did not elaborate on any possible evidence against the mother and father. They were each booked into jail early Friday on suspicion of felony willful harm to a child, according to inmate records. McIntosh was being held on $1 million bail, while Godfrey’s was set at $500,000. Police are still searching for Noah and have asked for the public’s help to find him. Anyone with information about his whereabouts is urged to contact Senior Detective Mario Hernandez by calling 951-279-3659 or emailing Mario.Hernandez@CoronaCA.gov. KTLA’s Jennifer Thang and Alexandria Hernandez contributed to this story.