Juan Escobar marked his son’s birthdays for more than three years, hoping that the missing teen would someday return home. That reunion finally came last week.
Federal authorities located Andrew Escobar, now 14, at the U.S.-Mexico border, ending a search that had drawn in local, state, and federal investigators. Finding Andrew became one of New Mexico’s long-running parental abduction cases.
The 11-year-old Andrew had to visit his mother, Miriam Felix, in June 2023. But the boy never returned home. The court had already granted Andrew’s father legal custody of his son at the time, but his mother never returned Andrew. Investigators soon concluded that the case had escalated into a parental abduction, launching a nationwide search involving multiple law enforcement agencies, including the U.S. Marshals Service.
Authorities pursued leads with little success in finding the missing teen. His family continued searching while coping with the uncertainty, with Juan Escobar and his wife leaving their jobs to devote themselves to finding him. They celebrated each of Andrew’s birthdays, unwilling to give up hope that they would eventually see him again.
The search ended July 1 when U.S. border authorities identified the missing teen as he crossed into El Paso, Texas, from Mexico with his mother. Authorities took Felix into custody and expect him to face extradition proceedings in New Mexico in connection with the case.
Police called Juan Escobar to inform him that they had found his son. He said the news took several moments to sink in before relief replaced disbelief.
According to Juan Escobar, Andrew told investigators he had lived in several countries during the past three years, including Austria, Albania and Turkey, while attending school online. Authorities have not publicly explained how the pair traveled internationally or remained beyond investigators’ reach for so long.
Authorities found Andrew in good physical health, but his father said the emotional toll of the separation may take much longer to overcome.
Now reunited, the family says its immediate focus is helping Andrew adjust to life back home while investigators continue examining the circumstances surrounding his disappearance and the events that kept him away for more than three years.
