Missing FL Boy Found In Canada After Being Taken By Father In August

NEW BRUNSWICK, CANADA — A 6-year-old Miami boy taken by his father and grandmother in August was found in Canada on Sunday, authorities said.

The boy, Jorge “Jojo” Morales,” who is autistic, was reported missing Aug. 27 to the Miami-Dade Police Department after his father, who had partial custody of him, violated a custody agreement by failing to return him to his mother, NBC Miami reported.

Yanet Leal Concepcion told the news outlet at the time that when her son wasn’t returned to her that day, she went to her ex-husband’s home to find it empty.

"Everything was gone. Everything was gone from his apartment," she said. "His phones were off. His mom's phone was off."

Now, two months later, Jojo was “located safe and sound” in Moncton, New Brunswick, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police tweeted Sunday afternoon.

A 45-year-old man sought in the investigation into Jojo’s kidnapping was arrested at a business in Moncton without incident, RCMP said. A 68-year-old woman also sought in the investigation was taken into custody in Saint Paul without incident. Both are in police custody in Canada.

In a news release, Miami-Dade police identified the two arrested in relation to the case as Jorge Gabriel Morales and Lilliam Pena Morales.

They are Jojo’s father and paternal grandmother, who were wanted on a felony charge of custodial interference, according to Local 10 News.

A tipster who had seen the media coverage of the boy’s kidnapping spotted Jojo and his father at a Walmart in Moncton, Canada, according to a Facebook post from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

After learning her son had been found, Concepcion, in a statement released by the NCMEC, his mother said, “Omg I have no words! There is no way to simply say thank you to everyone! I mean eternally grateful for the support of the community, and I’ve had people who don’t even know us posting fliers in Canada! I can’t believe this is over! The only reason why we’ve found him has been through the amount of shares and effort from everyone. I can’t stop shaking! I feel so blessed!”

Concepcion filed for divorce from Morales in January 2019, according to the Miami Herald. In November 2021, an emergency motion she filed to have the father’s partial custody of Jojo suspended was finally granted, after initially being denied.

His parents also argued over whether he is autistic, reports said. Prior to his disappearing with Jojo, Morales filed a motion to have his overnight visits with his son reinstated and to have the court declare that he isn’t autistic.