A 7-year-old boy was allegedly kidnapped by his mother in Atlanta in 2017 — now he’s been found safe across the country seven years later.
Abdul Aziz Khan, now 14, was found in Denver, years after his non-custodial mother allegedly kidnapped him in November 2017, Colorado authorities said.
The discovery was made on February 23, when the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office reported to a home up-for-sale in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, to investigate a burglary in progress.
Deputies came across a vehicle holding “several identifications” as well as two children. When officers approached the child in the driveway, the child “immediately called the two people inside” leading authorities to believe he had been “coached on what to say” if he came into contact with law enforcement,” Douglas County Sheriff Darren Weekly said.
A man and woman exited the house, claiming to be associated with a realtor. After four hours of questioning, investigators identified the woman as Rabia Khalid, 40 - theKhan’s mom - who had an active warrant for kidnapping.
In Louisiana in 2017, she made accusations against the child’s father. Those charges had been dismissed and she left with her child after it appeared his father was going to get full custody, Weekly said at the press conference.
It’s not immediately clear if the boy knew he had been kidnapped, Weekly said.
The biological father hasn’t seen Khan for nine years, Weekly said: “This is the only life that Aziz has known so it is going to take some time.”
Khalid and her husband Elliot Blake Bourgeois, 42, were arrested on charges including second-degree kidnapping, forgery, identity theft, providing false information to authorities and trespassing.
He faces 14 charges and she faces nine, said George Brauchler, district attorney for Colorado’s 23rd district. They are each being held at Douglas County Jail on $1 million bond.
It’s not clear how long the couple were in Colorado or what led them to the state, but authorities believe they have traveled all over the country.
Both children in the car seemed to be healthy and no harm appeared to have been done to them, Weekly said.
Khan’s family is asking for privacy at this time.
“We're overwhelmed with joy that Aziz has finally been found. We want to thank everyone for their support over the last seven years. Now, as we navigate the next steps, we ask for privacy so that we can move forward as a family and heal together,” the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children said in a statement Wednesday released on behalf of the child’s family.
An investigation into the incident is ongoing, the sheriff’s office said.
The preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 27.
