Off The Record
6-year-old Boy Missing From Florida For 2 Months Found 2,000 Miles Away In Canada
Six-year-old Jorge “JoJo” Morales, who went missing in South Florida in August, has been located.
More than two thousand miles away from his home in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the kid was found in Canada, according to official reports.
Miami-Dade police reported that the youngster was found healthy and unhurt.
Jojo, an autistic boy who disappeared on August 27 after his father Jorge Gabriel Martinez violated a custody arrangement by not returning him to his mother, has not been found.
When Jojo still hadn’t returned by late August, Jojo’s mom, Yanet Leal Concepcion, visited her ex-husband. She found that it had been emptied out and reorganized.
“Everything was gone. Everything was gone from his apartment,” she said. “His phones were off. His mom’s phone was off.”
The FBI posted a missing kid alert and offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to Jojo’s safe return.
Reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the recovery and safe return of Jorge "Jojo" Morales. Call (754) 703-2000 or https://t.co/xm8ISwpO7q. https://t.co/Zisako6gId He may be in Maine or eastern Canada. pic.twitter.com/53OXgn4gyO
— FBI Miami (@FBIMiamiFL) October 18, 2022
Jojo and Martinez were spotted in Maine on CCTV film several days after he went missing.
“It came to the point that we knew they were in Canada. That was based on some search dogs and then we started to put the information together,” Private Investigator, Joe Carrillo said.
But Concepcion heard nothing for two months until recently when a report came in that Martinez and Jojo were seen at a Walmart in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada.
See after: When Two Brothers Found Something Unusual, They Were In For A Tremendous Surprise
“Somebody called and somebody said something and I’m just so grateful for that person because it just took that,” Concepcion said. “Spreading the news, spreading the word and people wanted to help.”
“I’ve never been this happy,” she said. “This is only going to be topped by the moment I hug him. Nothing compares to this feeling, I’ve never had this feeling this happiness, I am just so blessed right now I don’t even know what to say.”
BREAKING NEWS 🚨
— Miami-Dade Police (@MiamiDadePD) October 30, 2022
The missing juvenile, Jorge "Jojo" Morales, has been recovered in Canada. We want to thank our local, state, federal, & international law enforcement, along with the @SDFLnews & @KathyFndzRundle for the collaboration on this case. pic.twitter.com/ajTkmAHCQ9
Concepcion expressed relief that her son seems to be unaware of the situation.
“I am glad my son is not aware of what is going on because this is a trauma. I got to speak to him and I told him I was waiting for you to come back from vacation baby! He was just like yes momma.”
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police detained Martinez and his mother, Lilliam Pena Morales.
Thank goodness there’s a nice resolution to this. We appreciate everyone who helped, especially those who noticed Jojo and spoke up. This youngster is alive today because of your help!
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