A family has been reunited after seven years of searching.
Abdul Aziz Khan, who was abducted by his mother Rabia Khalid, his non-custodial parent, in Atlanta, Georgia, in 2017, was found amid an attempted burglary in Colorado Feb. 23.
The now-14-year-old had been taken by his mother and her new husband when he was just 5 amid a years-long custody suit with his father, per Douglas County authorities.
Khalid, 40, and Elliot Blake Bourgeois, 42, were arrested by Douglas County authorities following a call made to police regarding trespassing in a vacant Highlands Ranch home by the homeowners, who had noticed suspicious activity in their security cameras.
Khalid and Bourgeois had told deputies they were associated with the realtor of the home but were found to be Khan’s kidnappers after hours of questioning, per Douglas County.
Khan’s mother had an active warrant for kidnapping at the time of her arrest after failing to show up for a custody hearing in Atlanta in November 2017, which had been detailed in a 2022 episode of Netflix’s Unsolved Mysteries.
Following her arrest last month, Khalid was booked along with Bourgeois for charges related to second degree kidnapping, forgery, identity theft, providing false information to authorities, and trespassing, per the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.
Their bond has been set at $1 million each. (While their plea has not been shared, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office reiterated they are innocent until proven guilty.)
Along with Khan, another younger child—whose identity was not shared—was recovered in a vehicle parked nearby the vacant home where Khalid and Bourgeois were discovered by authorities.
After Khan’s recovery, he, along with the other child, were taken into protective custody.
“We’re overwhelmed with joy that Aziz has finally been found,” Khan’s family later said in a statement to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office. “We want to thank everyone for their support over the last seven years.
We specifically want to recognize the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office for their exceptional work in solving this case. Now, as we navigate the next steps, we ask for privacy so that we can move forward as a family and heal together.”
E! News has reached out to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office for additional information but has not yet heard back.
Credit: ENews
