Long-missing boy found behind false wall at dad’s home

JONESBORO, Ga. – A 13-year-old boy missing from his mother for almost four years was found hidden behind a fake wall of his father’s Georgia home Saturday, police said.

His father is among five people arrested in the case, police said.

The boy was visiting his father in 2010, and the father refused to return him to his mother, WSB-TV reported. Officers showed up at the house late Friday night, but didn’t see any sign of the boy.

They returned early Saturday and found the boy when he called his mother while officers were at the house, Clayton County police Sgt. Kevin Hughes told WSB-TV.

“While at the location during the second call, the victim was able to establish phone contact with his mother and she in turn passed on additional information to the officers on the scene,” Hughes said. “The victim was found behind a false wall within the residence.”

It wasn’t immediately clear who asked police to go to the home to look for the boy or how long he had been kept behind the false wall.

The boy was reunited with his mother Saturday but will likely stay in the custody of the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services, WSB-TV reported.

The father and a woman at the home face charges of false imprisonment, cruelty to children and obstruction. Three juveniles were also arrested.