Ron Welch
Muskingum County Prosecutor
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, October 28, 2025
Zanesville Man Kidnapped Two Children, Sentenced to 22 Years in Prison
(ZANESVILLE, OH)
On October 27, 2025, Thomas Pritchard, 48, of Zanesville, appeared in the Muskingum County Court of Common Pleas to be sentenced for charges stemming from a 2023 incident where Pritchard kidnapped two children.
Last month, the Muskingum County Prosecutor’s Office secured admissions of guilt by Pritchard to two counts of kidnapping, and one count of grand theft of a motor vehicle, all felonies.
For these crimes Judge Cottrill sentenced Pritchard to 21 years in prison.
Pritchard also received an additional one-year prison sentence for another case involving a stolen vehicle, resulting in a total prison sentence of 22 years.
Case Details:
On March 23, 2023, Zanesville Police Officers were dispatched to a downtown business in reference to two children being kidnapped.
When officers arrived, a mother explained she had briefly left two children in her car as she dropped another off for dance class. The mother further explained that because of the frigid temperatures she left the car running and when she went back out, she found her vehicle, and the two children in it, were now gone.
Officers began searching the area and issued an Amber Alert. Approximately four hours later the Washington Police Department in Pennsylvania received a tip in reference to the Amber Alert. Soon after, the Washington Police Department made a traffic stop on the vehicle and found the two children unharmed in the back seat. The driver of the vehicle was identified as Thomas Edward Pritchard Jr.
On March 10, 2025, a hearing was held which determined that Pritchard was not competent to stand trial. Pritchard was then ordered to undergo treatment at Appalachian Behavioral Health where he remained until he was found competent to stand trial.
During sentencing Pritchard told the Court he did not know the children were in the car. Pritchard claimed he planned on returning the children once he realized they were in the car but needed time to decide how he was going to do it.
Prosecutor Ron Welch stated “Almost every parent has felt that sense of panic when you cannot find your child for even a moment which is why this case strikes so close to home. The actions of the defendant were the cause of this crime, and his punishment is significant.”
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