Andrew Escobar disappeared from Rio Rancho, New Mexico, amid his parents’ custody dispute in 2023

A missing boy has been reunited with his father three years after he disappeared.

Andrew Escobar was 11 years old when he vanished from Rio Rancho, New Mexico, in July 2023, KRQE News and WBAL reported. His father, Juan Escobar, and stepmother, Monique Escobar, quit their jobs to search for him full-time .

Multiple federal agencies, including the U.S. Marshals, got involved in the search, but it was unsuccessful until now, according to ABC affiliate KOAT 7. On Wednesday, July 1, authorities left Juan in “shock and disbelief” as they revealed that Andrew, now 14, had finally been located.

“Right away, he was like, ‘Hey, Mr Escobar, I just want you to know we have your son.’ And I mean, it took me like five, ten seconds to process it,” Juan told the outlet of the phone call.

Authorities claim that Andrew’s mother, Miriam Felix, took him during a custody dispute with his father in 2023.

According to KOAT 7, Felix unknowingly triggered a warning while crossing the border from Mexico back into the U.S. that informed authorities she was traveling with a missing person.

“That’s when they detained them both,” Juan told the news outlet.

Felix is currently being held at an El Paso jail and is awaiting extradition back to New Mexico.

Andrew allegedly told authorities that he traveled to several different countries during the period that he was missing, including Austria, Albania, and most recently Turkey.

Juan added that his son’s passport has a stamp from Amsterdam.

“We’re concerned about his mental health. Physically, he’s well, but he’s just been through so much the last three years emotionally and mentally,” Juan said, per WBAL.

While Andrew was missing, Juan continued to celebrate his birthdays and described their relationship to KRQE News as “best friends.”

“We would always do everything together,” he told the outlet earlier this year. “We loved to make videos together of what we were doing and just joke around a lot. He was always joking around.”

Darlene Gomez, an attorney who employs Juan and has been representing the family in their search, told KOAT 7 that the focus is now to allow Andrew time to recover from the ordeal.

“I think for this family, there is a lot of unknowns. It’s the family getting to know one another again and to work at different paces,” Gomez added.

El Paso Police Department did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on July 7.

Source: https://people.com/boy-reunited-with-father-3-years-after-went-missing-12013171