In 1994, Nicholas Barclay from Texas went missing. A few years later, he was found in Spain and was brought back to his family. He was very happy to be back home with his parents. However, his mother couldn't help but notice that something was off about him.
She couldn't put her finger on it. Then, one day, she received a call from the detective warning her to stay away from "Nicholas." The man who had been living with them wasn't their son.
When A Child Goes Missing
Every year, 800,000 children are reported missing in the United States. While some parents are lucky enough to reunite with their child, others are less fortunate. The Barclays were over the moon when they received a call from the police informing them that Nicholas was found alive.
But soon, they learned the young man who moved in with them wasn't their son.
Back in 1994
Nicholas Barclay was residing in San Antonio, Texas. The teen didn't get along with his parents, and sometimes after an argument, he would leave the house and sleep at a friend's place.
That's why the family wasn't alarmed when the boy didn't come home on the night of his disappearance and assumed he was out with his friends.
Basketball Was His Passion
Nicholas loved playing basketball. Sometimes, he played for hours on end and lost track of time.
It also helped him to calm down after fighting with his parents. That day, Nicholas decided to sleep at home, but he never made it to his neighborhood.
He Got In Trouble
One day, Nicholas got himself in trouble with the law and had to attend a court date. The night before the court date, he was out with his friends playing basketball.
After the game was over, everyone started walking home, including Nicholas.
He Never Made It Home
His mother stayed up and waited for him to ring the bell so that she could open the door for him, but he never came home. At first, she thought he ran away to avoid going to court.
But when he didn't come home in the following days, she started to worry.
She Contacted The Police
With Nicholas still missing, she contacted the police, and the search began. Everyone in the neighborhood was notified of his disappearance.
Flyers with Nicholas's photos were distributed all around the city, and many people volunteered to help search for him. Still, no one had any idea where he could've gone.
Nowhere To Be Found
After months of searching for the missing teen, the police were still clueless about what might've happened to Nicholas and where he was.
There were no traces of him, and the Barclays started to lose hope in ever seeing him again. Then, one morning, they received a life-changing phone call.
Good News
Three years after Nicholas's disappearance, his family received a call from the police. They finally located the boy, and he was safe and sound.
The Barclays couldn't believe their ears when they heard the good news. They had no idea that their lives would soon turn upside down.
The Found Nicholas
The police told the Barclays they had found their son. Someone spotted him in a small town in Spain and informed the authorities.
His family was at a loss for words. What was he doing in Spain? Soon they would discover the devastating truth.
Going Home
Shortly after the call, the young man was put on a plane and sent to Texas. His family couldn't wait to see him again.
They had so many questions for him regarding the past few years. Why did he leave them three years ago?
The Truth
Everyone who knew Nicholas was curious about what happened to him on that fateful day in 1994 and begged him to share his story. He was hesitant at first, but his family convinced him to tell the police where he had been all these years and why he left.
So was it kidnapping, or did he run away?
Nicholas's Story
He told the authorities that he was abducted and taken to Spain by plane. He tried several times to escape his kidnapper, and one day he finally succeeded.
That's when a passerby spotted him, and the police were called. The authorities believed him at first, but then one detective noticed something strange about him.
Different Hair and Eye Color
His hair and eye color were different now. When the police officers asked him what happened to his hair, Nicholas said that the kidnapper tried to change his appearance and dyed his hair.
He also told them the kidnapper had changed his eye color to hide his identity. Everyone believed him except for one private investigator.
Charlie Parker
Private investigator Charlie Parker was confident that the young man was an imposter. First of all, it's nearly impossible for someone to change their eye color.
Second of all, he was too relaxed and calm for someone who had gone through a traumatizing experience like this one.
It Wasn't Nicholas
When the investigators looked through Nicholas's photos, they discovered another alarming difference in his appearance. Charlie's suspicions were confirmed. The man in front of them wasn't Nicholas.
The shape of his ears wasn't the same as the one in his photos. What was going on?
An Imposter
This man's ears didn't match the old photos of the missing boy, and the authorities began to suspect that he was not Nicholas. Ears are like fingerprints; they are unique to every person.
But if this man wasn't Nicholas, then who was he?
Frédéric Pierre Bourdin
Charlie Parker was right. This man wasn't Nicholas. He was a French citizen named Frédéric Pierre Bourdin. Not only was he lying about who he was, but he was also a wanted criminal.
Frédéric had done some terrible acts in the past and was wanted by Interpol.
Posing As Missing Children
The 23-year-old had spent his whole life impersonalizing missing children for his own benefit. He had taken on hundreds of identities, including the one of Nicholas Barclay.
How did he learn about the disappearance of Nicholas?
One Day In Spain
Frédéric said that one day when he was walking on the street, he was approached by the police, who told him he looked like the missing boy from the U.S.
The man immediately took on his new identity and pretended he was the missing teen.
Devastated
The Barclays were heartbroken after they heard the news. A criminal had been living in their home pretending to be their son, and they fell for it.
Frédéric also shared his theory about what might've happened to the missing boy.
His Theory
He was convinced the boy's family knew he wasn't their son from the beginning and just played along. Bourdin thinks they murdered Nicholas and were happy to welcome him into the family.
That way, they could cover up the chilling crime and live happily ever after.
No Luck
Charlie Parker didn't fall for his theory initially but decided to investigate the crime anyway. However, he wasn't able to find any conclusive evidence.
He went as far as digging up Barclay's backyard to check for the boy's remains, but he didn't find anything suspicious. Although he still believes the family is involved in the boy's disappearance. But what happened to Frédéric?
The Day Of
When the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children was contacted claiming the missing boy was spotted in Spain, Bourdin found himself under a lot of pressure.
"I wasn't just someone to be identified now. I was an American who'd been missing for three years and four months. I couldn't go nowhere. I couldn't run away," he said.
They Looked Nothing Alike
Bourdin realized how difficult it would be to pose as Barclay as they looked nothing alike, but it was too late.
In an attempt to pose as Nicholas, he got three tattoos and changed his hair color.
They Fell For It
The imposter was worried Nicholas's sister Carey would be able to tell right away that he wasn't her brother, but to his surprise, the first thing she said to him was, "I knew it was you. I knew I would recognize you."
Despite the fact that Bourdin had a strong French accent, brown eyes, and was seven years older than her brother, the woman claimed that she had no doubt in her mind that he was Nicholas Barclay.
He Was Sent To The U.S.
Then Carey swore under oath that Bourdin was an American citizen and her brother, and he received a U.S. passport and a flight "back home."
Living with the Barclays was smooth for the most part. Bourdin fit right in and kept feeding them lies about how he was abused by his kidnapper and was forced to change his eye color by putting a special solution into his eyes.
Hiding The Truth
Bourdin feared that Nicholas would eventually show up if he was still alive. And after one year, the boy's mother discovered the horrifying truth.
On March, 5, 1998, Beverly Barclay contacted Charlie Parker, claiming that Bourdin had been impersonating Nicholas, and the next day, the imposter admitted his true identity.
He Went To Prison
After pleading guilty to perjury and passport fraud, Bourdin was sentenced to six years in prison. However, even while in prison, he continued to talk about his story.
For the better part of a year, Bourdin collect called me regularly... to discuss developments in his case and to regale me with horror stories about being held captive by a bunch of sick sadists in a city of lost children," said journalist Christine Spines.
He Didn't Stop
After serving his time in prison, Bourdin was sent back to France and began posing as missing children again. In 2003, he posed as a 14-year-old Leo Balley. In 2004, he was an orphan, Ruben Sanchez Espinoza, and in 2005, his last identity was 15-year-old Francisco Hernandez Fernandez.
He says he usually picks missing children around the age of 14 "because I would be younger so people would care more. I'd speak with a smaller voice, and because I was still looking younger, physical appearance wasn't a big problem at the beginning."