Missing boy found safe after 13 years

A five-year-old boy who went missing from his home in Alabama 13 years ago has been found unharmed and living with his father in Ohio, thanks in part to red flags raised when he tried to apply to college.

Julian Hernandez’s mother reported him missing from the Birmingham area in 2002. The case cracked open with a tip on October 30, officials said.

Hernandez was applying to several colleges, but there was an issue with his Social Security number, said Lt Kevin York of the Vestavia Hills Police Department, near Birmingham.

He approached a school counsellor, who was trying to help when she realised Hernandez was listed as missing by the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, said district attorney Brandon Falls in Jefferson County, Alabama.

Apparently, Hernandez had been living under an assumed name with his father, Bobby Hernandez, 53, in Cleveland, on the city’s west side.

It is understood that Julian was unaware he was the subject of a missing person’s case.

.@juliadahl has more on how cops found Julian Hernandez after having been missing for 13 yrs https://t.co/TAAEr87aQQ pic.twitter.com/Q6wut5itsR

— 48 Hours (@48hours) November 5, 2015

A woman and two other children lived in the home, according to the Cleveland Division of the FBI.

Bobby Hernandez has been charged with tampering with records in Ohio to get a driver’s licence in 2012. Police say he will face additional charges in Alabama. He is being held by Ohio police.

Falls told local media outlets he’s seeking charges involving interference with custody.

Court records show that Hernandez was declared indigent in Ohio, and the court appointed attorney Ralph DeFranco to represent him. Prosecutor’s spokesman Joseph Frolik said the investigation is ongoing. A preliminary hearing is set for November 12.

York said police have been in contact with the young man’s mother, who still lives in the Birmingham area. He said she has asked police not to release her name and has requested privacy.

“She was very happy that he had been found, but she was also somewhat hesitant because there had been so many false leads through the years,” York said.