Child Missing 4 Years Found After Computer Enhances PhotoPOSTED: 1:30 pm EDT August 6, 2004MOBILE, Ala. – A 6-year-old North Carolina boy missing for four years has been found living in Mobile with his father, a discovery made with the help of a tipster who had seen a computer-enhanced picture of the child at a web site. Nicolas Dipietro vanished from his home in Sanford, N.C., on July 27, 2000. Authorities said the child's father, John Frederick Dipietro, took him without permission. The mother, Dana Reece, had been searching for him ever since, with the help of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. On Thursday, the child was found in a trailer home in west Mobile. An age-enhanced image of the boy on the missing children center's Web site prompted someone in Mobile to call police with suspicions about the child's identity, said Assistant District Attorney Steve Giardini. He said the enhanced photo was "amazing" in its accuracy. On the Web site, Nicolas' age and other statistics are displayed, along with the information that he "may be in the company of his non-custodial father. They may have traveled out of state to meet an adult female. Nicolas uses the nickname Nico. He has a birthmark on the back of his neck and dimples on his cheeks." Giardini said the elder Dipietro, a restaurant worker, was away at his job when police officers found Nicolas with Dipietro's common-law wife and removed him. He was taken to Mobile County's Child Advocacy Center. The prosecutor said Nicholas was being home-schooled. "You can imagine why that would be," he said. After a night in a foster home the boy was to be reunited with his mother on Friday. She was traveling to Mobile from North Carolina. Deborah Brady, a caseworker with the missing children's center in Alexandria, Va., said the child will not recognize his mother right away. "It's very possible he won't have any clear memories of her," Brady said, but a favorite toy, or a photo of them together will help. "They will find a way," Brady said. "She is his mother. And he is her son." Prosecutors said they were unaware of any charges in the case. Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. |