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From mlive.com - February 17, 2022

Two men will likely spend the rest of their lives in prison after a Michigan jury found them guilty of kidnapping a 5-year-old boy from his home and attempting to flee across a melting Lake Superior into Canada.

Judge James P. Lambros sentenced George Cunningham, 56, to 39.5 years to 50 years and Jon Stygler, 70, to 26.6 years to 50 years for their crimes committed on March 13, 2019, in Chippewa County.

Jurors viewed approximately 42 pieces of evidence and heard from 22 witnesses over the five-day trial in Sault Ste. Marie, ultimately convicting both men guilty as charged. Cunningham and Stygler were found guilty of armed robbery, home invasion, unlawful imprisonment and kidnapping. Cunningham was also found guilty of first-degree child abuse.

Details of the men’s elaborate, pre-meditated plot to kidnap Cunningham’s biological son were shared during the trial, which occurred in August 2021 in Michigan’s 50th Circuit Court.

An Ohio court removed the child from Cunningham’s care when he was 11 months old and placed him permanently with a Chippewa County family after Cunningham was arrested and ultimately convicted of sexually assaulting his daughter.

As part of the premediated plan, Cunningham and Stygler broke into the family’s home in Paradise armed with clubs, wasp spray, and knives.

Despite the family’s best efforts to fight back, the men eventually subdued, and hog tied the family before carrying the 5-year-old child, clothed only in pajamas, out of the home and into the freezing March temperatures.

They took the child north, up a dead-end road where they ditched their truck and proceeded onto the dangerous ice of Whitefish Bay in attempt to reach Canada on foot. The 5-year-old was transported by sled with only a sleeping bag and was wearing no coat, hat, gloves, or boots.

The men were equipped with three bags of survival gear, 2 sleds, multiple bags of zip ties, duct tape, and weapons, according to evidence presented in court.

DNR conservation officers Kevin Postma and Calvin Smith and Chippewa County sheriff’s deputy Doug Mitchell eventually reached Whitefish Bay and took significant risk to pursue the suspects.

“Every step the officers took on the ice broke through and forced them to wade through icy water, and the snowmobiles were barely able to stay running as the water threatened to waterlog them,” Chippewa County Prosecutor Rob Stratton said.

Following the zig-zagging path on snowmobiles for about 3 to 4 miles across the slushy ice, the three officers caught up with the suspects. The men were arrested without incident at 1:10 a.m. The child was returned to the family unharmed.

During the trial, the parents of the boy described the serious lasting physical and psychological impacts Cunningham and Stygler caused to them and their four children while also noting that neither man has “expressed any form of remorse, and instead have made it clear that they would do this again.”

“What bothers me about this case was that it was carried out against Mr. Cunningham’s own family. He, along with Mr. Stygler, assaulted and restrained his own sister and his minor nieces and nephews,” Stratton said in a statement.

“We hope by convicting these men, that the family can start to move forward, and that these lengthy sentences will provide some closure and peace of mind, knowing that they will likely never see freedom again. Our office would like to thank each and every officer who answered the call of duty that night, and who put their lives on the line as they searched the Paradise area trying to locate the 5-year-old. From the door to door canvasing, to searching the thawing ice in the pitch black, your dedication does not go unnoticed.”

The trial for the men, originally set for September 2019, was delayed several times. First by an adjournment requested by the defense and then by the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The trial finally occurred in August with sentencing taking place on Tuesday.

“The bravery and dedication demonstrated by law enforcement on that freezing night saved a boy’s life, and now his attackers will spend the remainder of their lives in prison, unable to hurt a child ever again,” Stratton said.

To the original story and read related reporting, follow this link to the mlive.com website. https://www.mlive.com/news/2022/02/jury-finds-2-men-guilty-of-kidnapping-boy-5-trying-to-flee-to-can...