Nicholas Barclay has not been found since his disappearance in 1994. The imposter Frederic Bourdin claimed to be Barclay in 1997, which was later exposed.
In 1997, Barclay's parents received a call from Spain. The call revealed that their son Nicholas had been found in a youth shelter in Spain.
Barclay's half-sister Carey flew to Spain and brought her brother back to Texas. Three years after his disappearance, the teenager reunited with his parents.
The teenager claimed he was kidnapped three years ago while returning home from the basketball court. The kidnappers took him to Europe and pushed him into a sex trafficking ring. However, he managed to flee and was later found by the authorities.
The return of Barclay raised the eyebrows of the authorities and the relatives. The immediate family, however, was happy about his return and turned a blind eye to his unusual behavior.
Imposter Frederic Bourdin Claimed To Be Nicholas Barcley
Barclay was an angry, short-tempered, and aggressive child. But the child who returned was calm, composed, and well-mannered. He never seemed traumatized from the horrifying kidnap he claimed about.
The boy refused to provide fingerprints and blood samples to the authorities and insisted on a court order. Finally, in February 1998, the FBI obtained its court order and performed necessary tests.
The fingerprints and blood samples revealed that the boy who claimed to be Nicholas Barclay was a con artist named Frederic Pierre Bourdin. The 23-year-old Frenchman was a serial imposter who had previously assumed over 500 identities.
The infamous con artist was a wanted man. Interpol had a warrant for his arrest and was looking for him under the name of Chameleon. It was revealed that the imposter scoured through the missing child registry and claimed to be many different children in the past.
After his arrest, the 23-year-old accused Barclay's parents of murder. The con artist claimed that the family readily accepted him because they needed a cover for murdering their son. However, those were just wild accusations of a thief caught red-handed.
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