A 14-year-old Atlanta boy who went missing when he was 7 has been found safe in the Denver area — and his non-custodial mother and an accomplice are now behind bars on multiple charges.
Abdul Aziz Khan, who was profiled in a 2022 episode of “Unsolved. Mysteries,” was found by the Douglas County Sheriff Office deputies on Feb. 23 after they responded to a trespass call at a property in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, according to a press release from the office.
The home, which was vacant and listed for sale, was being monitored by security cameras. The homeowner alerted authorities after noticing two people allegedly entering the home illegally, the release said.
After arriving to the scene, deputies spotted two children in a parked vehicle in the home’s driveway.
When a woman and man exited the home, they identified themselves as associates of a realtor. But their story fell apart after deputies worked for hours to learn who they really were.
The woman was eventually identified as Rabia Khalid,40, Aziz’s non-custodial mother, who had an active warrant for his kidnapping.
The man, Elliot Blake Bourgeois, 42, is Khalid’s husband, according to Aziz’s profile on the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children website.
Khalid and Bourgeois were arrested on multiple felony charges, including second degree kidnapping, forgery, identity theft, providing false information to authorities and trespassing. Their bond was set at $1 million each.
Aziz has been taken into protective custody along with the other child found at the scene, who is younger. The younger child’s identity is not being released.
Authorities are continuing to gather information and an investigation in this case is ongoing, the sheriff’s office said.
“We’re overwhelmed with joy that Aziz has finally been found. 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,” Aziz’s family members said in a statement.
Sheriff Darren Weekly said in a statement that Aziz was found and safely recovered because of the “sharp attention to detail and tenacity” that Douglas County Sheriff’s Office deputies exhibited during a routine trespass call.