Florida Boy Found In Canada Months After Kidnapping
By Zuri Anderson
October 31, 2022
Authorities have found a 6-year-old Florida boy who's been missing for months in Canada, according to WPLG.
The Miami-Dade Police Department announced Sunday (October 30) that Jorge "Jojo" Morales was discovered unharmed in Moncton, New Brunswick. A Good Samaritan spotted the child in a Walmart and called the police, according to Yanet Leal Concepcion, Jojo’s mother.
“I’m just so grateful for that person because it just took that,” Concepcion told reporters. “I’m just so happy because my son is okay, I feared the worst.”
Jojo was reportedly kidnapped on August 27 by his father and Concepcion's ex-husband, 45-year-old Jorge Morales, and paternal grandmother, 68-year-old Liliam Pena Morales. The trail went cold once they crossed the Canadian border until that fateful phone call Sunday. Both of them were arrested by Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
BREAKING NEWS 🚨
— Miami-Dade Police (@MiamiDadePD) October 30, 2022
The missing juvenile, Jorge "Jojo" Morales, has been recovered in Canada. We want to thank our local, state, federal, & international law enforcement, along with the @SDFLnews & @KathyFndzRundle for the collaboration on this case. pic.twitter.com/ajTkmAHCQ9
Reporters say Jojo, who has autism, has been mostly unaware of what was happening. He and his overjoyed mother shared a phone call hours after police found him.
“All I said was, ‘Hey baby! I missed you!’ and he says, ‘It’s mommy, it’s mommy!’” Concepcion said, who hopes she can see her son as soon as Monday (October 31).
Miami-Dade Police Director Freddy Ramirez praised the cooperation between law enforcement agencies in bringing the 6-year-old home.
“This is another example how local, state, federal, and international law enforcement, along with the United States and State Attorney’s Office coming together for the safety of a child and will continue to work together to fight the greater evil,” Ramirez said in a statement.