Mom Searches for Abducted Son for 15 Years, Accidentally Stumbles upon His Old Photo on Facebook

In a heart-wrenching series of events, a woman's toddler son was taken away from her, and she never saw him again. The distraught mother searched for him for many years until she stumbled upon a picture on Facebook one day that changed everything.

At AmoMama, we share countless reunion stories from time to time because they are heartwarming and loved by our readers worldwide. With a global pandemic hovering over our heads, it's imperative to treat ourselves with positive and inspiring content.

Today's story is a worthy addition to our whopping list of family reunion diaries. It sheds light on the many events that led to a long-lost mother and son duo embracing each other.

AN UNSPEAKABLE TRAGEDY

Hope Holland from Campbell, California, was a happy mother to two boys, Jacob and Jonathan. Her life centered around her sons, and she hoped to raise them into responsible young men.

Everything in her life was picture-perfect until something unimaginably tragic happened one day. In 1999, her younger son, Jonathan, was only three-years-old when he suddenly went missing.

Naturally, her son's disappearance shocked Holland, who couldn't imagine living without him. According to Holland, her ex-husband and Jonathan's father, with whom she shared custody, took him on vacation and never returned.

A HEARTBROKEN MOTHER

To her utter dismay, her abusive ex-husband had kidnapped her son. Holland was shattered to the core because she never saw it coming. She battled varying emotions and tried her best to find Jonathan, all in vain.

Here's another story that you might like, and it's about a 3-year-old boy who ran to hug his crying mother in an emotional reunion after being allegedly kidnapped.

The desperate mother sought help from child services and private investigators to find her missing son. Meanwhile, she tried contacting her ex-husband, only to discover he had severed all means of communication.

A SIGNIFICANT BREAK

Years went by, and in 2006, Holland caught a massive break. The investigator she had hired managed to track down her ex-husband in San Diego, California. For a moment, it seemed like she would soon be reunited with her son.

But everything went awry when the investigator suddenly vanished. She waited months to hire someone else, and sadly, the new investigator notified her ex about the investigation while trying to recover her son.

Holland had repeatedly asked him to refrain from such tactics, and she was heartbroken when Jonathan's father crossed the border and took him to Mexico. The setback shattered her, but she continued her search and hoped for a miracle.

HOPING FOR A MIRACLE

Things were cumbersome for Holland as a single mother, as she had to look after her older son, Jacob, too. Then, one day in 2015, something truly remarkable happened. While signing up for an online video training session, she was prompted to like the company's page.

After doing so, she saw a collection of photos, and one of them drew her attention. It was a picture of her sons, Jacob and Jonathan, an image she remembered taking herself many years ago. The California mother recalled:

"He was only three when I last saw him. I can still see his face and curly head of hair … Almost as clear as yesterday."

15 YEARS IN THE MAKING

Tears streamed down her face, and her body started to shake uncontrollably. Holland controlled her emotions and noticed that someone else had liked her missing son's photos. She discovered he was Jonathan's friend and knew him well upon contacting him.

Through that person, Holland received Jonathan's contact details, and when she reached out to him, she couldn't believe her son had been looking for her. The pair agreed to meet on July 1, 2015, and after 15 years, Holland reunited with her long-lost son. She expressed:

"I'm so happy, and it's a miracle. [I] never thought this [day] would ever come."

FINALLY TOGETHER

After clearing the immigration checkpoint between Tijuana, Mexico, and San Diego, Holland and Jonathan were together at last. The duo had a lot in common; both loved spicy food, bicycling, and basketball. Holland also revealed:

"I was suicidal. I was pretty much done. I had no reason to believe I was finding my son. Ever since I found him, my whole world, my whole outlook and direction changed."

Jonathan was a rising high school senior in Mexico and assured his mom he would move to California once he finished classes. He made good on his promise and moved back home in the fall of 2016. The young teen boy said he didn't remember being abducted.

Holland started a GoFundMe fundraiser to cover the costs of raising Jonathan after being denied child support for her then 18-year-old son. Jonathan, who only spoke Spanish, expressed that he was delighted to reunite with his mother.

We're glad Holland and Jonathan reunited after years of separation and ordeal. Please share this story with your loved ones.

Here's another story that you might like, and it's about a 3-year-old boy who ran to hug his crying mother in an emotional reunion after being allegedly kidnapped. You can read the full story by clicking here.