A 6-year-old boy who was reported missing by his father in August has been found safe, hidden in an attic crawl space in the southwest Missouri home of his mother and her boyfriend, authorities said.
Braedence Jones was found in the crawl space with his mother, Aubrey Ferguson, at a home south of Camdenton in rural LaClede County, the Camden County Sheriff's Department said.
Ferguson's boyfriend, Woodrow Ziegler, had nailed the entrance of the crawl space shut, put carpet over it and pushed furniture against it before officers from the U.S. Marshal's service and Laclede County arrived with a search warrant after receiving a tip, said Camden County Sheriff's Lt. Arlyne Page. She didn't know how the officers found the crawl space.
The boy was reunited with his father, Ryan Jones, of Bourbon, on Tuesday. Jones reported Braedence missing on August 3 when his mother took off rather than returning the boy after a weeklong visit. Ferguson was charged with child abduction.