A child reported missing in Alabama 13 years ago has been found alive and well in Ohio, Alabama authorities have confirmed to BuzzFeed News.
Vestavia Hills Police Lieutenant Johnny Evans announced during a press conference on Thursday morning that then-5-year-old Julian Hernandez went missing from his mother’s residence in August 2002. Authorities suspected at the time that his father, Bobby, had abducted him.
Bobby did not have custody of his son, but had been looking after him that day, and had allegedly left a note that he had taken him out and then never returned, according to authorities.
Hernandez was recently flagged when he was tried to apply for college and it was discovered that his social security number did not match his name. With a school counselor’s help, he discovered that he was listed on the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children database.
Evans said that Vestavia Hills police were contacted on Sunday, Nov. 1 by the Cleveland FBI about a missing child whose identity matched up with the abducted Alabama boy from 13 years ago.
The lieutenant notified Hernandez’s mother of the discovery.
“She’d been through so many false claims for 13 years,” he said, adding that she was “kind of apprehensive, but overall excited that he was doing well.”
Evans confirmed that the mother and son had been in contact, but did not know if they had physically seen each other yet.
Vestavia police are expected to obtain warrants for Bobby Hernandez for interfering with child custody. He was arrested in Cleveland, and is expected to be extradited to Jefferson County, Alabama to face additional charges for the 2002 abduction.
from BuzzFeed - USNews http://ift.tt/1Ss7wOf
No comments:
Post a Comment