Julian Hernandez went missing in 2002, aged just five-years-old, sparking a search that lasted over a decade.
And on Monday that search was finally called off, when the boy- now 18- was found safe and well living in Ohio with his father.
Bobby, Hernandez, 53, has been charged with abduction and is being held at an Ohio jail.
An alert was first raised when the teenager applied of university, but had problems with his Social Security number.
When his school counsellor investigated, he realised Julian was listed as a missing child by the National Centre of Missing and Exploited Children.
The FBI were alerted on the 30th October, and the agency and the NC/MC worked together to confirm the boy’s identity before informing his mother of the news.
A missing person’s database reveals Hernandez claimed he was taking his son to pre-school in 2002, but then fled.
It is not known whether Julian, who was found living with his father, a woman, and two other children, knew he was missing.
Speaking about the case, Lt Johnny Evans of the Vestavia Hills, Alabama police said the boy is now under no obligation to return to his mother.
"He is 18, he is an adult, so it's kind of up to him now as to whether he wants to come back”, Evans confirmed.