–The father and grandparents of a missing 5-year-old from Kossuth County have been arrested after law enforcement officials in Wisconsin found the boy and returned him to his mother on Monday.
According to the Kossuth County Sheriff’s Office, 5-year-old Douglas Jonathan Zane Roth was found Monday after a search warrant was executed at the home of Emil and Audrey Roth, the boys’ paternal grandparents, in Rusk County, Wisconsin. Douglas John Roth, the boy’s father, was arrested Monday as well, after he was found in a neighboring county.
The child was listed on the Iowa Missing Person’s Clearinghouse back in November of 2025, with Kossuth County Sheriff Roger Fisher describing the situation as a custody dispute at the time. The boys’ mother was granted physical custody of the child following a court hearing in June of 2025.
In September, Douglas Roth, formerly of Titonka, failed to appear for a civil court hearing in Kossuth County. The Sheriff’s office filed official charges against Roth for violating a custodial order in November, and contacted law enforcement officials in Wisconsin, where they believed the child was residing with relatives.
Officials with the Rusk County Sheriff’s Department began an investigation at that time and executed the warrant on Monday at the Roth home near Richland Township in Rusk County.
Douglas John Roth will be extradited back to Iowa to face charges of 3rd Degree Kidnapping (Class C Felony) and Violation of a Custodial Order (Class D Felony). Emil and Audrey Roth face charges in Wisconsin for Interfering with a Parental Custody Order and Being Party to a Crime for helping conceal the location of their son and the child.
