Missing boy did not know identity
VESTAVIA HILLS, Ala. — For 13 years after a 5-year-old boy was taken from his mother's Alabama home, authorities chased leads in hopes of finding him. But in the end, the youth himself helped unravel the mystery when he began applying to colleges and found out he'd allegedly been snatched away by his father.
Father and son were discovered living under assumed names recently in Cleveland. By all accounts, the now 18-year-old Julian Hernandez was an excellent student and had been well cared for. His father, Bobby Hernandez, 53, was arrested and faces charges that could send him to prison for a decade or more if convicted.
The mother, whose name has not been released, has been in contact with her son, but it's not known whether they have actually seen each other.
“You want to pick up and catch up, but how do you do that?” said police Lt. Johnny Evans of the Birmingham suburb of Vestavia Hills, where the boy once lived.
Authorities said the boy only found out about his real name because a problem arose with his Social Security number during the college application process.
“My understanding is that he didn't know his birthday. He didn't even know his own name. He was going by something else. How does he cope with going from somebody he thought he was to now somebody that's completely unknown to him?”
Authorities said they're still trying to piece together what happened to the boy over the 13 years he was missing. But some things are known: He vanished from his mother's home in the Birmingham area in 2002, his father leaving a note saying he had taken the child, according to authorities. The parents of the child weren't married.Police investigated hundreds of possible sightings. The break in the case didn't come until the son started applying to college.A problem was discovered with his Social Security number, and so he approached a school counselor, who discovered Hernandez was listed as missing by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, District Attorney Brandon Falls in Jefferson County, Ala, told the local media.Authorities confirmed the young man's identity Monday, and Evans said he told the mother her son had been located. Having had her hopes raised before, she was initially cautious.Evans said Thursday the mother and son had since been in contact, but he was not sure whether it was by phone or other means.
