A boy missing for 7 years is found after deputies stumble upon mom during burglary investigation

Video shows deputies responding to a reported burglary at an empty home, where they then found a boy missing since 2017.

DENVER — A boy who was allegedly taken by his mother, who didn’t have custody, seven years ago from Atlanta was found last month in Colorado after she was arrested in an unrelated incident in suburban Denver, authorities said Wednesday.

Rabia Khalid, 40, was arrested Feb. 23 after sheriff’s deputies were asked to investigate a suspected burglary taking place at a vacant home that was for sale, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office said. The deputies found two children in a vehicle outside and a man and a woman coming out of the home who initially told them they were working for a realtor, it said in a press release.

Deputies, working with dispatchers, eventually determined that the woman was Khalid, who had an active warrant related to the 2017 disappearance of her son, Abdul Aziz Khan, who is now 14. The case was featured on Netflix’s “Unsolved Mysteries,” according to the U.S. Marshals Service, which had been helping look for the boy. Khan was the older of the two children found in the vehicle, it said.

Khalid along with the man were arrested on charges including second-degree kidnapping, forgery, and identity theft.

A person who answered the phone at the law firm for the lawyer representing Khalid, Kyle Sawyer, said the firm did not comment on cases.

The boy and the younger child, whose identity hasn’t been released, were taken into protective custody and decisions about where they will be placed will be made by the court, the sheriff’s office said.

The sheriff’s office said the boy’s family is asking for privacy at this time, but they expressed their gratitude in a statement.

“We’re overwhelmed with joy that Aziz has finally been found. We want to thank everyone for their support over the last seven years,” they said.

Colleen Slevin, The Associated Press