1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:08,080 According to USA Today, on September 26, 2015, an anonymous post appeared on Reddit, a public 2 00:00:08,080 --> 00:00:12,880 online forum where people post anything they want according to their interests, sort of 3 00:00:12,880 --> 00:00:18,960 like an online meetup community. According to the Reddit thread, someone commented on the following, 4 00:00:18,960 --> 00:00:25,680 quote, sometime between the ages of three and five, my father took me against a court order away from 5 00:00:25,680 --> 00:00:31,520 my mother without me ever knowing this. He changed my name, my social security number, and did 6 00:00:31,520 --> 00:00:37,680 something similar for himself. I have lived my entire life up until a few days ago oblivious 7 00:00:37,680 --> 00:00:43,760 to this fact. I only discovered all of this when I was applying for scholarships. I'm not angry at 8 00:00:43,760 --> 00:00:49,760 my father in the slightest. I remember he used to ask me, if I ever committed a terrible crime, 9 00:00:49,760 --> 00:00:56,400 would you still love me? I still do, even after learning everything, unquote. Welcome everyone to 10 00:00:56,400 --> 00:01:03,440 Dying to be Found the Dash. I'm your host Deb, and this is a story of Julian Hernandez, a five-year-old 11 00:01:03,440 --> 00:01:11,200 boy who was abducted by his father in 2002 from Birmingham, Alabama. Hi everyone, this is Deb from 12 00:01:11,200 --> 00:01:16,400 Dying to be Found. Before we get started, I just wanted to say that episodes contain disturbing 13 00:01:16,400 --> 00:01:22,640 discussions on harmful acts and crimes against animals and or humankind. Recordings are not 14 00:01:22,640 --> 00:01:28,240 intended for young or sensitive audiences due to the content nature of this podcast. Listener 15 00:01:28,240 --> 00:01:39,760 discretion is strongly advised. Hi everyone, thanks for hanging in here with Dying to be Found 16 00:01:39,760 --> 00:01:46,080 the Dash, where every week I'll bring you bonus episodes like today or talk with fellow True Crime 17 00:01:46,080 --> 00:01:52,000 podcasters and enthusiasts. Just look for the Dying to be Found logo. Once you find me, you'll 18 00:01:52,000 --> 00:01:59,280 get to hear me and my kiddos Shelby and Corey or my sister Beth tell a tale to every week. If you're 19 00:01:59,280 --> 00:02:06,320 looking for shorter stories and just me telling a tale or looking for just some cross collaborations 20 00:02:06,320 --> 00:02:12,400 with other podcasters, be sure to check out The Dash. If you could rate and share, that really does 21 00:02:12,400 --> 00:02:18,640 help as far as visibility out there in the podcast world. So definitely give it a go. I appreciate it, 22 00:02:18,640 --> 00:02:23,840 but let me get into my storyline today. This Reddit post that I spoke about at the beginning of this 23 00:02:23,840 --> 00:02:30,800 episode, there's speculation that the author is indeed Julian Hernandez, although the circumstances 24 00:02:30,800 --> 00:02:37,440 are without question extremely similar to this case. Someone had commented on that post that I 25 00:02:37,440 --> 00:02:43,520 had mentioned in the introduction and the person talking about being abducted responded to that 26 00:02:43,520 --> 00:02:49,600 post by telling them that his father had told him that if his parents ever broke up, his dad would 27 00:02:49,600 --> 00:02:56,400 just take him away. However, the courts felt otherwise and ordered custody to the mum. So what's 28 00:02:56,400 --> 00:03:03,360 this case all about? It's about a little boy who did not find out his true identity until he 29 00:03:03,360 --> 00:03:09,600 consciously went through his formative years making good grades, scoring well on his ACT's, 30 00:03:09,600 --> 00:03:16,240 and trying to earn scholarships to pay for college. This boy was named Julian Hernandez and it sounds 31 00:03:16,240 --> 00:03:22,640 like he was doing everything right plus he had a pretty good upbringing. On another note, it seems 32 00:03:22,640 --> 00:03:28,320 that Julian discovered his own past simply by needing to supply his social security number 33 00:03:28,320 --> 00:03:34,880 when applying to those colleges. As it turns out, Julian ran into a few roadblocks turning in those 34 00:03:34,880 --> 00:03:40,720 applications because he received messages that his social security number could not be verified. 35 00:03:41,360 --> 00:03:47,360 Julian went to visit his school counselor for assistance and imagine his surprise when after 36 00:03:47,360 --> 00:03:52,720 a little bit of digging, they discovered that Julian was registered with the National Center 37 00:03:52,720 --> 00:03:59,760 for Missing and Exploited Children Database. Obviously, Julian's father was promptly arrested. 38 00:03:59,760 --> 00:04:05,920 Bobby Hernandez, age 53, was charged with tampering with official records and providing 39 00:04:05,920 --> 00:04:14,720 false information on June 12, 2015. He was held on a $250,000 bond and because he was currently 40 00:04:14,720 --> 00:04:23,840 living in Cleveland, Ohio, he was scheduled to face charges 650 miles or 1046 kilometers away 41 00:04:23,840 --> 00:04:29,840 in Alabama. Bobby was also charged with interference of custody which could amount to 42 00:04:29,840 --> 00:04:37,520 between one and 10 years in prison if convicted. When Julian was first reported missing in 2002, 43 00:04:37,520 --> 00:04:44,160 he had left a note for Julian's mom that he had taken Julian fishing. Of course, Julian was not 44 00:04:44,160 --> 00:04:50,960 returned that evening and when that happened, Julian's mother contacted police and a warrant 45 00:04:50,960 --> 00:04:57,840 was issued as a non-custodial parental abduction, which is a felony offense in relation to 46 00:04:57,840 --> 00:05:04,320 interference with child custody. According to ABC News, the child custody interference charges 47 00:05:04,320 --> 00:05:10,880 applied from the time that Julian was taken at the age of five until his 18th birthday. 48 00:05:10,880 --> 00:05:17,520 Court records indicated that Bobby had falsified identification information to obtain a fictitious 49 00:05:17,520 --> 00:05:24,720 ID in Ohio. Whether this was for himself or for Julian is not quite clear. However, authorities 50 00:05:24,720 --> 00:05:30,880 from the state of Ohio believe that Bobby may have applied for an identification card under the name 51 00:05:30,880 --> 00:05:39,760 of a deceased individual. So here's how it played out. On April 28, 2002, Bobby Hernandez, Julian's 52 00:05:39,760 --> 00:05:46,480 dad, was not married to Julian's mom. At some point, they had broken up so eventually resided 53 00:05:46,480 --> 00:05:52,800 in separate homes. The couple was apparently on enough speaking terms together because Bobby made 54 00:05:52,800 --> 00:05:59,280 arrangements with Julian's mom to take Julian to preschool. That never happened. Instead, Bobby picked 55 00:05:59,280 --> 00:06:06,320 Julian up at the designated time and went to run errands instead. He went to the bank, withdrew some 56 00:06:06,320 --> 00:06:13,040 cash, and simply left the area. When Bobby failed to show up that evening to return Julian back home, 57 00:06:13,040 --> 00:06:19,280 his mom did call the police to file that missing person's report. Over the next 13 years, many 58 00:06:19,280 --> 00:06:25,840 leads came in, but Bobby and Julian had vanished without a trace. Authorities released information 59 00:06:25,840 --> 00:06:32,800 on Julian's disappearance and received numerous leads all the way from Florida to Canada. Of course, 60 00:06:32,800 --> 00:06:38,720 nothing came to fruition from these leads, but eyewitnesses after the fact said that Bobby was 61 00:06:38,720 --> 00:06:46,080 a soft-spoken man who lived under an alias name of Jonathan Mangina. He loved his son, whom he called 62 00:06:46,080 --> 00:06:54,720 Jay or JJ, and did his best to always provide for him. It wasn't until 2015 that Julian began applying 63 00:06:54,720 --> 00:07:00,240 to colleges and his social security number came into question. This is when his high school counselor 64 00:07:00,240 --> 00:07:06,320 helped him fill in the missing pieces of his true identity, whether they realized it or not. So where 65 00:07:06,320 --> 00:07:14,080 does Julian go from here? In 2016, 19-year-old Julian Hernandez made a public statement to an 66 00:07:14,080 --> 00:07:20,720 Ohio courts judge that he forgave his father Bobby Hernandez for kidnapping him and raising him on his 67 00:07:20,720 --> 00:07:28,560 own. Julian even said, quote, even if people can't, I forgive him for what he's done. I love him and I 68 00:07:28,560 --> 00:07:35,040 want him to be part of my life. Unquote. Julian went on to advocate for his father and asked the 69 00:07:35,040 --> 00:07:40,720 judge to give mercy on Bobby and keep him from going to prison for this kidnapping. Julian's 70 00:07:40,720 --> 00:07:46,400 argument was that throughout his life, Bobby had pushed him to be a good student, to do right, 71 00:07:46,400 --> 00:07:51,280 and to focus on his future with plans to go to college. Well, let's not forget about Bobby 72 00:07:51,280 --> 00:07:57,280 Hernandez here. He was that soft-spoken man and apologized to the court for taking his son from 73 00:07:57,280 --> 00:08:03,360 Julian's mother. He went on to explain to the court why he had abducted his own son and ended 74 00:08:03,360 --> 00:08:11,280 up in Ohio. Bobby told the judge that Julian was the most important person in his life. The prosecutor 75 00:08:11,280 --> 00:08:18,720 felt otherwise. The Cuyahoga County prosecutor argued that Bobby was a con man and stated that 76 00:08:18,720 --> 00:08:25,600 kidnapping Julian was a horrible thing to do to any parent. One of Julian's grandparents later came 77 00:08:25,600 --> 00:08:32,640 forward to testify that Bobby was angry, controlling, and vengeful and deliberately punished Julian's 78 00:08:32,640 --> 00:08:38,800 mom by kidnapping Julian because she had left him. Bobby went on to be indicted for kidnapping, 79 00:08:38,800 --> 00:08:46,640 interference with custody, forgery, and tampering with records on November 14, 2015. According to 80 00:08:46,640 --> 00:08:54,080 WVTM 13 television, the tampering and forgery charges were issued when Bobby falsified Julian's 81 00:08:54,080 --> 00:08:59,920 records, which included his birth certificate necessary to enroll Julian in public school. 82 00:08:59,920 --> 00:09:06,320 These charges were also related to Bobby when he obtained an Ohio driver's license and the title 83 00:09:06,320 --> 00:09:12,720 to his vehicle. Bobby went on to plead guilty to two counts of kidnapping, two counts of interference 84 00:09:12,720 --> 00:09:21,600 to custody, one count of forgery, and ten counts of tampering with records. On April 13, 2016, Bobby 85 00:09:21,600 --> 00:09:27,600 was sentenced to four years behind bars in the Ohio prison system and was released on parole for 86 00:09:27,600 --> 00:09:33,680 an additional five years. That would bring us up to today where Bobby has a few more years to serve 87 00:09:33,680 --> 00:09:40,800 on parole. To this day, Julian stands behind his dad and his actions, inferring that he was a good 88 00:09:40,800 --> 00:09:48,320 provider and a good dad who pushed him to succeed in life. Okay, where's Julian's mom in all of this? 89 00:09:48,320 --> 00:09:54,720 Personally, I'm a mother and if you've listened to Dying to be Found enough, you know that I lost 90 00:09:54,720 --> 00:10:01,280 my son Cory for 15 minutes of my life while we were out camping and he was three years old. 91 00:10:01,280 --> 00:10:06,320 Longer if you count the minutes it took me to discover that he was gone. The moment of 92 00:10:06,320 --> 00:10:13,760 realization that your child is missing is absolutely excruciating. And that was only for 15 minutes 93 00:10:13,760 --> 00:10:20,880 until I was able to find Cory at another campsite safe and sound about half a mile away. Although 94 00:10:20,880 --> 00:10:28,080 this is nothing in comparison to losing a child, let alone for 13 years, I personally understand 95 00:10:28,080 --> 00:10:34,160 for a split second what it's like for a child to go missing. Thankfully, Julian's mom got the same 96 00:10:34,160 --> 00:10:40,960 results as me only it took a lot longer. So my heart goes out to her and I am truly joyful that 97 00:10:40,960 --> 00:10:47,600 she was able to find her missing child. Julian's mom was notified that he was found safe and sound. 98 00:10:47,600 --> 00:10:54,400 She realizes that Julian was a grown man when he discovered his true identity and left it up to him 99 00:10:54,400 --> 00:11:01,440 on if they would reunite. So where is Julian Hernandez now? I did my best to find updates 100 00:11:01,440 --> 00:11:09,280 on his whereabouts but was unsuccessful. However, back in 2015 when the story made headlines, 101 00:11:09,280 --> 00:11:14,480 Julian was 18 years old and basically told the media that he wanted to be left alone. 102 00:11:14,480 --> 00:11:21,440 According to Cleveland 19 News, this is what he said. And to be honest, there's little information 103 00:11:21,440 --> 00:11:27,920 on Julian's whereabouts today other than to say he's living his best life. Quote, I would like to 104 00:11:27,920 --> 00:11:34,400 take this opportunity to make a request to the media. I ask that you respect my privacy and the 105 00:11:34,400 --> 00:11:40,640 privacy of my school, my school's faculty, my friends, and my neighbors. I want to go through 106 00:11:40,640 --> 00:11:47,680 my day like I did this week, just being a normal 18 year old. Unquote. So here's some closing thoughts 107 00:11:47,680 --> 00:11:54,720 to sum things up. It's apparent that Julian holds a strong bond with his dad. According to Global News, 108 00:11:54,720 --> 00:12:01,200 Julian is quoted by saying, I think my dad has done a lot of good in our time here in Cleveland. 109 00:12:01,200 --> 00:12:07,280 He's raised me well, in my opinion, a lot better than any other parent I've seen. He's pushed me 110 00:12:07,280 --> 00:12:13,360 far in school. And he's the reason why I get some of the best grades in school and why I'm going to 111 00:12:13,360 --> 00:12:19,360 college. Unquote. Julian goes on to say that the time he spent with his dad is the only time he 112 00:12:19,360 --> 00:12:26,400 truly felt at home and at peace because of how much hard work he put into everything. So that's the 113 00:12:26,400 --> 00:12:33,920 story of Julian Hernandez, the five-year-old boy from Alabama that discovered his own identity. 114 00:12:33,920 --> 00:12:39,680 Please let me know what you have to say about this episode by emailing me at dying the number two, 115 00:12:39,680 --> 00:12:45,440 the letter B found at gmail.com. If you have a short storyline that you would like to hear 116 00:12:45,440 --> 00:12:51,600 specifically on the dash, be sure to click on that Linktree account in our show notes to find out how 117 00:12:51,600 --> 00:12:58,000 you can submit a storyline request and I'll get to that right away. You can always let me know now 118 00:12:58,000 --> 00:13:03,600 how we're doing by clicking on that follow button. Be sure to rate, review, and consider buying us a 119 00:13:03,600 --> 00:13:09,920 coffee so that we can continue to bring you quality episodes. 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