The safe return of Wyatt Nordrum, 7, to his family made for a great weekend, said the boy’s grandfather, Randy Wilde of Fort Frances, Ontario.
“We couldn’t have asked for a better Easter,” Wilde told The Journal Tuesday from his Fort Frances home.
A nearly two-week-long search for the missing boy and his father, James L. Nordrum, 41, ended late Saturday night with the boy recovered safely.
Wyatt Nordrum, 7, of Brookston, and his father, James Leon Nordrum Jr., 41, formerly of International Falls, were found in a rural cabin in St. Louis County’s Stoney Brook Township with the help of tips from the public, according to news reports.
Wyatt had been missing since March 27 after being taken by his father during a bitter custody battle with the boy’s mother, Candice Nordrum, who is originally from Fort Frances.
Wilde said he greatly appreciated the tips from the public generated by state and national news reports as the search for the boy continued.
“Tens of thousands of people heard about this and everybody kept their eyes open,” he said. “It was great and the best part about it was they went in and got them and Wyatt was unharmed.”
Nordrum Jr. was in stable condition in intensive care Sunday after surgery at St. Luke’s Hospital in Duluth. He sustained self-inflicted injuries to his neck.
Wilde reported that Wyatt was taken from the cabin to a shelter house, where his mother, aunt and sister picked him up.
He said his daughter, Candice, was relieved. “This has probably been just a blur for her,” Wilde said.
Wyatt is expected to return to his Steinbach, Manitoba, school on Wednesday.
“It’s time for him to get back to normal,” said Wilde.
“We just want to thank everybody so much, and give a big thank you to Craig Hunter, Candice’s lawyer,” said Wilde. “He’s been working on this seven days a week. When we first talked to him all he wanted was to get Wyatt back to his mother. He believed Candy and it paid off. The law showed that Candice was right after the evidence got out.”
