GASTONIA, N.C. A woman says she saw 6-year-old Maddox in the park last Saturday.

• Brooke Sheppard said she was at Rankin Lake Park and saw the child
• She told her story to investigators
• RELATED: Body found in creek believed to be Maddox Ritch

Brooke Sheppard told her story to investigators. She says she was walking with her mother, daughter and a friend when a boy ran up behind them on the path around the lake.

She says her mother tried to talk to him.

"I can remember her looking over to him and saying 'hey buddy, are you tired?' because he had just been skipping, jogging, you know. Just a kid. A kid being a kid," she said.

Sheppard says the boy didn't say anything and they kept an eye on him as he ran toward the park office. When she heard Maddox was missing, she knew it was the boy she saw.

Authorities are still investigating what happened to the child. Anyone who was at the park or has any information about the incident is asked to call the Gastonia Police Department's tip line at 704-869-1075.