A young child who disappeared 13 years ago in Alabama has been found alive and well in Cleveland, Ohio. Julian Hernandez went missing at the age of five in August 2002.
At the time is was suspected that his father had abducted the young boy. This was the case. 53-year-old Bobby Hernandez, has been arrested in Ohio and is facing abduction charges in Alabama, among other counts. The father was supposed to drop his son to nursery but he never did, Julian was missing since.
Vestavia Hills Police Lt Johnny Evans told WVTM-TV: “I’ve been doing this 25 years and it’s something I’ve never experienced before. That’s the reason you never give up and you keep looking.” Investigators suspected the father and child could have been using fake names, but were never able to find the father and son.
Now aged 18, Julian was trying to apply for college, and his Social Security number didn’t match his name. School officials found out that he was on the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children database.
It is not known if Julian knew he was even missing. He lived with a woman and two other children in his father’s house.
“He is 18, he is an adult, so it’s kind of up to him now as to whether he wants to come back,” said Lt Johnny Evans of the Vestavia Hills, Alabama police.