A 13-YEAR-OLD American boy who had been reported missing four years ago was discovered alive, hidden behind a fake wall of a home near Atlanta, Georgia, and reunited with his mother.

    Five people living in the home in Jonesboro, 28 km south of Atlanta, were taken into custody, among them the boy’s father, Gregory Jean, 37, and a woman, said local police Sergeant Kevin Hughes.

    Jean and Samantha Davis faced charges, he said, along with three juveniles also in the home.

    The boy’s mother apparently had reported him missing to child welfare but not police, and no missing person’s report was filed, Hughes said.

    The teen was apparently able to get to a phone recently and contacted his mother with his whereabouts, authorities said.

    Clayton county police went to the home Friday to look for the 13-year-old but Jean and Davis said they had no information about the boy, Hughes said.

    Several hours later, police came back and again searched the residence. While the police were in the home, the boy called his mother, who relayed to officers where her son was hidden in the house, Hughes said.

    “They discovered him hidden behind a false wall in the interior portion of the home,” he said.

    The boy appeared to be in good health and was reunited with his mother, Hughes said.

    Neighbors said the family moved in about six months ago and kept to themselves.

    The 13-year-old boy always seemed to be home and did not appear to be enrolled in school, they said.

    “We just thought that they liked to keep to themselves,” said neighbor Julie Pizarro, 37, adding that the boy was often seen tending the yard. “You can see the yard is immaculate. The boy kept it that way.”

    (SD-Agencies)