A 13-year-old boy who went missing four years ago, has finally been found by Georgia town police in the US.
According to a report in Fox News, the boy was found on Saturday behind a false wall inside a home, following which the police has made five arrests including the boy's father. Three of the arrested suspects are juveniles.
The boy had reportedly gone missing after he went to visit his father in 2010. A report by WSB-TV Police in Clayton County said that the boy's father had refused to return the child to his mother and kept the boy hidden behind a false wall inside a linen closet.
The boy and his mother were reunited after years of separation at the Clayton County police headquarters.
After the boy went missing, the mother apparently filed a missing complaint with the Child Welfare Authorities and not with the police possibly because she is an immigrant and did not have knowledge of the procedures.
Police has arrested the boy's father, 37-year-old Gregory Jean along with 42-year-old Samantha Joy Davis and three juveniles. They have been charged with false imprisonment, obstruction of justice and cruelty to children.
"We opened the compartment area where he was and I saw him and asked him to come forward," Clayton County Police Sgt. Joanne Sutherland told WSB-TV. "He was horrified. He was frozen with fear," Sutherland said.
The police was able to reach the boy after he recently managed to text his mother with the help of a mobile application. His mother then informed the police and helped them trace the teenager.
The police first went to the house on Friday at 11 pm with a child abuse complaint, but had to return after Jean and Davis denied any knowledge about the missing boy. However, on Saturday morning at 2 am, the police got a second call regarding the boy after which they returned to the house and rescued him.
Police further said that the boy was very thankful to the officers who rescued him. The boy will now be under the custody of Georgia Child Welfare.
