The case of missing Julian Hernandez was solved earlier this week, bringing an end to a 13 year long investigation by authorities.

When he was just five-years-old in 2002, Hernandez was taken by his non-custodial father, and the two lived under aliases for over a decade. 

Hernandez was taken from his home in Alabama, and while authorities had been looking for them in Tampa or Key West in Florida, he was eventually found in Cleveland. 

Matt MeInyk, a neighbour who has been living next to the family for the past few years, stated that "I had absolutely no idea this was happening. His son was very quiet, and from what I know, he was a good student". 

The case was discovered when Julian began his college applications, and the social security number that he had been given by his father simply didn't match with any records. This lead to the school counsellor getting involved and eventually contacting the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, who had originally been involved in the search for Julian when he first went missing in 2002. 

There have been very few details given on Julian as he is now, bar that he was unharmed when police came to arrest his father earlier this week.

Given that he is 18-years-old, he is now an adult and can decide whether or not he wants to be reunited with his mother, and it is not clear if he ever found out that he had been taken as a child. 

The Vestavia Hills Police Department in Alabama stated that the boy's father is being held on charges of tampering with records and will face charges for the abduction, but there are no other suspects at this time.

Via WKYC.com