riannan
Missing Child
It was 1994 when a young boy from Texas went missing from his loving family. Loved ones were devastated to hear the news and searched for the missing boy. Suddenly, years after his disappearance, he came home to his family. Happy at first, the family would soon learn that some things are better left alone.
Losing a Child
The horrific event of losing a child is life changing and devastating. The family who had their son stolen from them experienced this heartache and pain. However, when he returned, they thought it was the perfect ending to their story. It was almost too perfect.
Nicholas Barclay
The missing child was Nicholas Barclay of San Antonio, Texas. His home life wasn’t perfect. He would constantly argue with his parents and was aggressive towards people at school.
Troubled Child
Nicholas was always getting himself into trouble. It became so bad that his parents considered shipping him off to a military academy to teach him some discipline.
Court Appearance
Before his parents could make a decision about military school, Nicholas found himself in big trouble with the law. He was scheduled to appear in court and face a judge about his wrongdoings.
Basketball Game
Nervous about his court appearance the next day, Nicholas decided to shoot some hoops with his friends outside.
Gone Missing
The game didn’t last too long before Nicholas’s friends headed home. However, Nicholas never arrived at his parents’ house that night.
Running Away
When his parents first noticed that Nicholas didn’t return home, they figured that he ran away because of his court hearing the next day. He probably wanted to avoid getting in trouble with the law. However, the family would soon find out they were wrong.
The Realization
Once Nicholas’s family realized that their son was actually missing, they called the police station. Nearby counties were notified and his picture went out across the police force and the city.
Three Years Pass
Three years after Nicholas’s disappearance, Nicholas’s parents received a phone call concerning their son. This was a shock to them, as nobody had come forward with information since they reported their son missing.
Found
The call came from the local police station. An officer informed the Barclays that they had finally found their son.
Spain
The officers had found Nicholas in a tiny town in Spain. He was unharmed and healthy. Once discovered, the officers put him on a plane right back to America.
Nicholas’s Story
Once Nicholas returned home, he explained what had happened. He said he was sold into sex slavery and ended up in Spain. Luckily, he escaped from the ring and the police recognized him.
Something Wrong
Nicholas’s mother, while relieved her son was finally home, couldn’t help but notice that Nicholas was a little different than before. The first thing she noticed was that his eyes were a different color. Nicholas explained that his kidnappers had to disguise him and changed his eye and hair color to avoid him from being recognized.
Family Reunion
Even though their son looked different, the family couldn’t be happier to have Nicholas back home.
Investigating
Private investigator, Charles Parker, wasn’t satisfied with the return of Nicholas. He knew something wasn’t right. To begin, he knew it was impossible to change someone’s eye color. So, he decided to dig a little deeper.
Different Personality
The next thing Parker noticed was that the boy was emotionally and mentally sound. This was strange for someone who was kidnapped and sold into sex slavery. Usually the person would be withdrawn and depressed.
Looking at the Evidence
Parker built a team of investigators to look over the evidence of the case. He needed some new sets of eyes. That’s when they noticed something shocking that would change the Barclay’s lives forever.
The Ears
Everybody’s ears are unique, just like fingerprints. So, when the investigators noticed there was a difference in young Nicholas and current Nicholas’s ears, they knew they were two different people.
Scam Artist
It turns out Frederic Bourdin, a 23 year old from France, was posing to be 16 year old Nicholas. He was known for stealing identities and was even nicknamed, The Chameleon, by authorities.
Wanted
Frederic was on the French police’s wanted list due to his constant act of pretending to be missing children. In fact, he spent years pulling his scam on devastated families.
Look-a-Like
When someone commented that Frederic looked like Nicholas, he planned his scheme to become the missing child.
Bad News
Parker was saddened by his discovery. He wanted the Barclay family to have a happy ending. Instead, this impersonator made their heartache even worse.
Deceived
The Barclays were in complete shock when Parker told them the truth about Nicholas. They felt guilty that they thought this stranger could actually have been their son.
Doubting Nicholas
While Nicholas’s immediate family was thrilled to have their son back, his uncle Jason didn’t quite believe that it was actually Nicholas. Sadly, Jason died before he could make a statement to the police about his suspicion.
Confronted
Of course, when Frederic was confronted about pretending to be Nicholas, he denied it completely. However, they had proof that he was a fraud.
Murder
Frederic provided a surprising twist to the mystery when he claimed that the Barclay family knew that he was a fraud because they were trying to cover up the murder of their actual son, Nicholas.
Looking for Evidence
Parker and his investigative team searched the Barclay house and property for clues to Nicholas’s murder. However, they couldn’t find anything linking the family to their son’s murder.
Inconclusive
When asked if they had anything to do with Nicholas’s disappearance, Parker didn’t believe the family when they said no. Parker knows in his gut that something was off about that family and their missing child.
Cold Case
Sadly, the world will never know what happened to poor Nicholas Barclay. Did his family have anything to do with his disappearance? Did they use Frederic to cover up their crimes? Is Nicholas still alive? These questions will forever remain unanswered.
Brittany
Silvia
