NOW. TO WORK UP THE COURAGE TO COME INTO THIS ROOM. NOW ANDREW ESCOBAR IS BACK IN HIS BEDROOM AFTER HE WAS REPORTED MISSING THREE YEARS AGO. GOOD EVENING. I’M DOUG FERNANDEZ, I’M SHELLY RIBANDO. THIS WEEK, ANDREW ESCOBAR WAS FOUND ALIVE AND WELL AND HIS FAMILY IN RIO RANCHO NEVER GAVE UP HOPE. SEARCHING RELENTLESSLY FOR HIM AFTER HIS MOTHER TOOK HIM DURING A CUSTODY BATTLE. JASON MCNABB TALKING TO ANDREW’S FATHER THIS EVENING. ONE ESCOBAR WAS NOT EXPECTING A CALL HE GOT EARLIER THIS WEEK FROM EL PASO POLICE. IT’S JUST RIGHT AWAY IT’S LIKE, HEY, MR. ESCOBAR, I JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW WE HAVE YOUR SON, AND I MEAN, IT TOOK ME LIKE, FIVE 10S TO PROCESS IT AND SAY WHAT YOU HAVE HIM AND, AND HE’S LIKE, YEAH, WE HAVE YOUR SON. JUAN’S SON, ANDREW FINALLY FOUND. HE LEARNED IT ALL HAPPENED WHEN ANDREW’S MOTHER, MIRIAM FELIX, WAS CROSSING THE BORDER FROM MEXICO BACK INTO THE U.S. HIS MOM TRIGGERED SOME SORT OF WARNING, AND THEN THEY CHECKED HIS I.D., AND THEN THAT’S WHEN THEY RECOGNIZED THAT HE WAS LISTED AS A MISSING PERSON. AND THAT’S WHEN THEY. AND THAT’S WHEN THEY DETAINED HIM, BOTH BACK IN 2023. POLICE SAY FELIX TOOK OFF WITH HIM DURING A CUSTODY DISPUTE. MULTIPLE STATE AND FEDERAL AUTHORITIES, INCLUDING THE U.S. MARSHALS, GOT INVOLVED IN THE SEARCH. ESCOBAR SAYS HE’S LEARNED HIS SON HAS BEEN ALL ACROSS THE WORLD DURING THAT TIME, ANDREW DISCLOSED TO AUTHORITIES THAT HE’S BEEN IN SEVERAL DIFFERENT COUNTRIES OVER THE LAST THREE YEARS, INCLUDING AUSTRIA. ALBANIA. WE BELIEVE THEY WERE MOST RECENTLY IN TURKEY WITHIN THE LAST TWO MONTHS, HIS PASSPORT HAS A STAMP OF AMSTERDAM. THEY HAVE BEAT THIS GROUND ALL OVER THE UNITED STATES LOOKING FOR ANDREW. DARLENE GOMEZ IS AN ATTORNEY WHO NOT ONLY EMPLOYS JUAN, BUT IS ALSO BEEN REPRESENTING THE FAMILY IN THEIR SEARCH. SHE SAYS THE NEXT STEPS NOW ARE TO LET ANDREW RECOVER, WHILE LAW ENFORCEMENT INVESTIGATES. I THINK FOR THIS FAMILY, THERE’S A LOT OF UNKNOWNS. IT’S THE FAMILY GETTING TO KNOW ONE ANOTHER AGAIN AND TO WORK AT DIFFERENT PACES. JASON MCNABB, KOAT ACTION SEVEN NEWS. MIRIAM FELIX IS BEING HEL
Missing Rio Rancho boy found safe in El Paso after 3 years
Andrew Escobar, missing since 2023, was reunited with his father after authorities detained his mother at the U.S.-Mexico border in El Paso
Updated: 9:01 AM MDT Jul 4, 2026
Andrew Escobar, who was declared missing in 2023 at the age of 11, has been found alive and safe in El Paso, Texas, three years after his disappearance. Police say Andrew’s mother, Miriam Felix, took him during a custody dispute with his father, Juan Escobar. Multiple state and federal agencies, including the U.S. Marshals, were involved in the search, but efforts to locate him had been unsuccessful until now. “I mean, I was in such shock and disbelief,” Juan Escobar said. Juan and his wife quit their jobs to search for Andrew full-time. Despite remaining hopeful, Juan said he was not expecting the call he received on Wednesday from an El Paso police officer. “He just right away is like, ‘Hey, Mr. Escobar, I just want you to know we have your son.’ And I mean, it took me like five, 10 seconds to process it and say, ‘What? You have him?’ And he’s like, ‘Yeah, we have your son,'” Juan said. Escobar was told Miriam Felix triggered a warning while crossing the border from Mexico into the U.S. in El Paso. “His mom triggered some sort of warning, and then they checked his ID, and then that’s when they recognized that he was listed as a missing person, and that’s when they detained them both,” Juan said. Juan revealed that Andrew had traveled extensively over the past three years, including to Austria, Albania, and Turkey. “We’re concerned about his mental health. Physically, he’s well, but he’s just been through so much the last three years emotionally and mentally,” Juan said. Darlene Gomez, an attorney who employs Juan and has been representing the family in their search, praised the efforts of law enforcement. “They have beat this ground all over the United States looking for Andrew,” Gomez said. She added that the next steps involve allowing Andrew to recover while law enforcement continues its investigation. “I think for this family, there is a lot of unknowns. It’s the family getting to know one another again and to work at different paces,” Gomez said. Miriam Felix is currently being held at an El Paso jail and is awaiting extradition back to New Mexico, according to Gomez.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —
Andrew Escobar, who was declared missing in 2023 at the age of 11, has been found alive and safe in El Paso, Texas, three years after his disappearance.
Police say Andrew’s mother, Miriam Felix, took him during a custody dispute with his father, Juan Escobar. Multiple state and federal agencies, including the U.S. Marshals, were involved in the search, but efforts to locate him had been unsuccessful until now.
“I mean, I was in such shock and disbelief,” Juan Escobar said.
Juan and his wife quit their jobs to search for Andrew full-time. Despite remaining hopeful, Juan said he was not expecting the call he received on Wednesday from an El Paso police officer.
“He just right away is like, ‘Hey, Mr. Escobar, I just want you to know we have your son.’ And I mean, it took me like five, 10 seconds to process it and say, ‘What? You have him?’ And he’s like, ‘Yeah, we have your son,'” Juan said.
Escobar was told Miriam Felix triggered a warning while crossing the border from Mexico into the U.S. in El Paso.
“His mom triggered some sort of warning, and then they checked his ID, and then that’s when they recognized that he was listed as a missing person, and that’s when they detained them both,” Juan said.
Juan revealed that Andrew had traveled extensively over the past three years, including to Austria, Albania, and Turkey.
“We’re concerned about his mental health. Physically, he’s well, but he’s just been through so much the last three years emotionally and mentally,” Juan said.
Darlene Gomez, an attorney who employs Juan and has been representing the family in their search, praised the efforts of law enforcement.
“They have beat this ground all over the United States looking for Andrew,” Gomez said.
She added that the next steps involve allowing Andrew to recover while law enforcement continues its investigation.
“I think for this family, there is a lot of unknowns. It’s the family getting to know one another again and to work at different paces,” Gomez said.
Miriam Felix is currently being held at an El Paso jail and is awaiting extradition back to New Mexico, according to Gomez.