Police: Man put son up for sale on Craigslist

SPOKANE, Wash. -- The search is on for a Spokane father accused of offering to sell his son on Craigslist for $5,000.

Investigators don't believe the ad was a hoax. They've obtained a search warrant to find the person who posted the ad back in February.

In the ad, the father identified himself as a single parent dad by the name of "Rick" who has run out of child care options.

"Gavin is a great kid but I can no longer afford to take care of him," the ad said. "I don't know what else to do other than find a good family with kids or a couple that wants a son. I just won't give him to anyone."

Rick said his 4-year-old son "loves playing with balls, but doesn't really like to play with cars and refuses to eat vegetables."

"He doesn't fuss very much but when he does, he just screams for hours. I usually just put him in the closet until he stops, and that usually works," the posting said.

The posting was only up for a short time, but long enough for a concerned woman to copy and forward the ad to sheriff's detectives.

Buying or selling of children is a felony.