Letecia Stauch is being held for investigation of first-degree murder, tampering with a body, tampering with evidence and child abuse resulting in death, said El Paso County Sheriff Bill Elder during a Monday news conference.
Letecia Stauch was taken into custody Monday morning in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Authorities are working to extradite Letecia to Colorado.
Gannon went missing Jan. 27 from his home near Colorado Springs. His body has not been found.
A sheriff’s lieutenant who spoke at the news conference said investigators have received information that should help narrow the search.
During the news conference, Gannon’s father, Albert Stauch, and his mother, Landon Hiott, held hands as they stood behind law enforcement officials announcing the arrest.
“I never thought I’d be standing here. It’s a nightmare,” Hiott said of the worldwide support she has received in the days since her son went missing.
Hiott called for justice for Gannon. She said she had trusted Letecia Stauch to care for her son. She asked the news media to give the family space and to allow law enforcement to continue their work.
“I want to live on this earth knowing that justice is being done for my little boy,” she said.
In statement that was read at the news conference, Albert Stauch said his heart stopped Monday when he was informed of his wife’s arrest. He said he had given a lot to her and trusted her.
“That’s a burden I will carry for a very long time,” the statement said.
Letecia Stauch told authorities that she last saw her stepson on Jan. 27, a Monday, when he left to walk to a friend’s house around 3:30 p.m. However, her timeline of activities for their final days together changed during multiple interviews with the press.
A neighbor told reporters that he had home surveillance video showing Letecia and Gannon leaving together on the morning of Jan. 27 but that only she returned home that afternoon.
At the time the boy went missing, his father was in Oklahoma for National Guard training.
Albert Stauch and Landon Hiatt have been the public face of the case, including appearing before TV cameras in the early days of the search to plead for any possible clues.
Letecia Stauch had initially kept out of the spotlight. But three weeks after the boy’s disappearance, she released a public statement about her last contact with Gannon — including the detail that he cut his foot while helping her in the garage two days earlier.
Her statement included a plea to the boy to “come home soon,” and criticism of the suspicion that had been directed her way.
“Social Media has been devastating from the harsh comments, speculations, threats, cyber bullying, etc.,” she said. “It has been a challenge when people are trying to run you off the road, waiting outside your hotel, threatening to kill you, etc.”
Letecia and Albert Stauch have been married for five years, and Gannon’s younger sister, Laina, also lives him them.
Letecia is originally from South Carolina and she has an 18-year-old daughter from a previous relationship.