A teenage boy who was missing for four years has been found alive behind a false wall.
The 13-year-old’s father and four other people were arrested at the Jonesboro, Georgia home on Saturday.
Police said the mother told them she reported her son missing to child welfare officials four years ago when the boy's father wouldn't return him after a visit.
Officers showed up at the house late Friday night, but didn't see any sign of the boy.
The unnamed mother and her son embrace on Saturday
They returned early on Saturday and found him when he sent a text message to his mother while officers were at the house, Clayton County police Sgt. Kevin Hughes told WSB-TV.
"While at the location during the second call, the victim was able to establish phone contact with his mother and she in turn passed on additional information to the officers on the scene," Hughes said. "The victim was found behind a false wall within the residence."
It wasn't immediately clear who asked police to go to the home to look for the boy and how long he had been kept behind the false wall.
The boy is likely to stay in the custody of child services for now
Police say they're trying to determine who has legal custody of the boy, Clayton County police Deputy Chief Mike Register told WSB-TV.
The boy was reunited with his mother on Saturday but is likely to stay in the custody of the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services for the time being.
The father and a woman at the home have been charged with child cruelty and false imprisonment.
A Georgia judge has denied bond for both of them and they are due to appear at a preliminary hearing on 9 December.
Three juveniles have also been arrested.