Recife, Brazil/Buenos Aires, Argentina - After Carlos Attias Boudoux and his sister spent Christmas 2015 at their dad's, Claudia Franco Boudoux's worst nightmare began.

Instead of returning the pair to their mother in early 2016, Claudia's ex-husband only brought the girl along – nine-year-old Carlos was nowhere to be seen.

Instead, the businessman absconded to Argentina with his son, as the Daily Star reported.

Claudia immediately called the police, but years passed before any progress was made in the case.

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The desperate mother had to wait until February 2019 for her son to be repatriated from Argentina to Brazil following a court order.

But after all those terrifying years, the drama was still far from over. A few days before his departure, little Carlos disappeared again – this time without a trace. His horrified mother, who until then had at least been able to talk to him on the phone, never heard from her boy again!

His father was arrested the following year on suspicion of kidnapping his son and blocking contact with his mother. However, the child mysteriously remained missing.

Then on January 18, there came a surprising twist. Claudia Franco Boudoux told local media that her son somehow found his way to a police station.

There, he "showed his ID card and said he hadn't had any contact with his father or with me in the past two years. He's now in a shelter waiting"

The mother stated that she had no idea who her son had been with during that time.

However, Carlos has since undergone several medical tests and appears to be in good health.

After January 31, Boudoux plans to travel to Argentina to finally be able to bring her child back home.