A family in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, is adjusting to a reunion many feared would never come. Andrew Escobar disappeared in July 2023 at age 11, and after three years without answers, he has been found alive and returned home at 14. The case, which drew in federal investigators and spanned several countries, finally broke open at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Juan Escobar got the call on Wednesday, July 1. An investigator told him plainly that they had located his son, and Juan says the news took several seconds to sink in before it fully registered. What followed was a wave of relief three years in the making for a father who never stopped looking.
The Search That Never Stopped
Behind that phone call was a search effort that reshaped the Escobar household from the moment Andrew vanished. Juan and his wife, Monique, both left their jobs so they could dedicate themselves to finding him without distraction. Their determination eventually brought in outside help, including the U.S. Marshals, though solid leads remained scarce for years.
Juan refused to let the disappearance define his memory of his son. Every birthday that passed without Andrew’s presence was still marked and acknowledged rather than skipped over. He has spoken about the bond the two shared before Andrew disappeared, describing their dynamic as closer to friendship than a typical father-son relationship.
Making videos together and joking around were part of their everyday routine, according to Juan. He has noted that Andrew was usually the one driving the humor between them. Holding onto those details seems to have carried Juan through years without confirmation that his son was even safe.
A Break at the Border
The case remained unresolved until Andrew’s mother, Miriam Felix, attempted to cross back into the United States from Mexico. A security system flagged the crossing, alerting officials that she was traveling alongside someone reported missing. That single alert was enough to unravel three years of silence in a matter of minutes.
Both Felix and Andrew were detained immediately once the system flagged their entry. Authorities have said Felix took Andrew during an ongoing custody dispute with Juan back in 2023. She now faces extradition proceedings and is currently being held at a jail in El Paso while the process moves forward.
For investigators, the border alert represented the first concrete break in a case that had gone cold more than once. Systems like this exist precisely to catch these kinds of long-odds moments, though they rarely produce results this dramatic. In this instance, it closed a gap that federal resources alone had not been able to close for three years.
Where Andrew Had Been
Once located, Andrew shared some details with investigators about where his time away had taken him. He described travel through Austria, Albania, and most recently, Turkey during the period he was missing. Juan has also pointed to a stamp from Amsterdam in his son’s passport as further evidence of how far the disappearance had carried him.
Neither Juan nor the investigators have offered a full timeline connecting those locations. What is known so far comes largely from what Andrew himself has been willing to share since being found. Piecing together years of movement across multiple countries is rarely straightforward, and the family says that process is still ongoing.
For now, Juan says the specifics of where Andrew went matter less to him than simply having his son back. That sentiment has shaped how the family is choosing to move forward, prioritizing Andrew’s present over the unanswered details of his past three years.
What Comes Next for the Family
Juan describes Andrew as physically healthy following the ordeal, but his focus has shifted toward his son’s emotional recovery. He has said the last three years have clearly taken a toll mentally and emotionally, even without visible physical harm. That distinction has become central to how the family is approaching the weeks ahead.
Darlene Gomez, an attorney who has represented the family throughout the search and who also employs Juan, says patience will matter more than answers right now. She has described a household full of unknowns as everyone works to reconnect after such a long separation. According to Gomez, that process will look different for each family member and cannot be rushed.
Rebuilding familiarity after years apart rarely happens on a fixed schedule, and Gomez has been clear that this case is no exception. The family appears to be leaning into that reality rather than pushing for a quick return to normal. As Felix’s extradition case moves forward, the Escobars say their attention remains fixed on Andrew’s wellbeing.
According to People, the El Paso Police Department had not responded to a request for comment as of July 7.
