Son Vanishes without a Trace, Mom Finds Out about Teen with Similar Birthmark Nearly 3 Years Later

After a California mother's son mysteriously went missing in 2019, she looked for him every day and dreamt about him showing up on her doorstep. Three years later, the police found a teenager with a similar birthmark, giving the mother hopes of reuniting with her lost son.

Losing a family member is a horrifying experience, especially if it's one's child. Knowing that you won't see your child around is terrifying for a parent. They try their best to bring their missing kid back, but sometimes, things don't work out as planned.

In such situations, many parents continue looking for their children, hoping they will find them one day. The mother in today's story also didn't stop searching and finally got a lead about her son after three years.

THE MISSING BOY

In September 2019, 16-year-old Connerjack Oswalt mysteriously went missing from his home in Clearlake, California. Since then, his mother, Suzanne, and stepfather, Gerald Flint, had been looking for him.

After filing a missing report for their autistic son, the devastated couple checked multiple missing person reports and even went inside morgues in search of Oswalt.

As days turned into weeks and weeks into months, Suzanne and Flint became more curious about Oswalt's whereabouts. After looking for her son almost every day for three years and dreaming about his return, Suzanne was exhausted. However, she didn't give up. The mother's instincts said her teenage son would come back soon.

A HOMELESS BOY

In 2022, multiple residents of Summit County, Utah, spotted a teenage boy wandering on the streets with a shopping cart and informed the authorities. Sheriff's deputies approached the boy, asking him if he needed help, but he refused.

Tears rolled down Suzanne's cheeks when she realized her son had returned after three years.

Since the boy was not violating laws, the deputies didn't ask him about his personal information. They let him be until they received a call from a concerned citizen informing them about the same boy sleeping in the cold.

MEETING THE BOY

On the chilly morning of April 9, 2022, a team of deputies pulled over at a gas station in the greater Park City area, where the teenager was reportedly last seen.

Sitting at the entrance of the Jeremy store in Jeremy Ranch, the boy was seen shivering when the deputies approached him. They offered him a seat inside their warm vehicle and took his fingerprints to find out who he was. While interacting with the boy, they realized he had autism. The sheriff's Facebook page update said:

"Through past interactions and the Saturday interaction, it was clear to deputies that the man communicated differently."

THE INVESTIGATION

According to the deputies, the boy resisted being interrogated and didn't even tell them his name. They discovered his name after his fingerprint scan but still didn't know where he was from.

Looking at the young boy made them think something was not right. They suspected he was a missing child and began combing through their database to find more information about him.

After going through 16 pages of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children website, the deputies finally found a photograph that matched his physical appearance. Beside it was his name: Connerjack Oswalt.

THE UNBELIEVABLE NEWS

Once the authorities were sure the 19-year-old boy was Connerjack Oswalt, they called his mother to inform her about her son. It wasn't easy for Suzanne to believe that her son had returned, so she asked the police to confirm if it was really him before she sent Flint to pick him up.

Suzanne told the officers her son Oswalt had a birthmark on his neck. To her surprise, the authorities confirmed the boy had a birthmark at the same spot she told them. Tears rolled down Suzanne's cheeks when she realized her son had returned after three years.

In no time, Oswalt's stepfather and grandfather reached the sheriff's office in Park City, Utah. When the police showed him a recent photo of Oswalt, Suzanne, who was on the phone, asked him if it was her son. Flint replied:

"A bit older, but yeah."

THE MOTHER'S REACTION

"My sweetheart is alive!" Suzanne exclaimed through the phone. "Can you go get him, please?" The mother couldn't believe her son would soon return to her after three years. She said:

"We searched all over California. We're just grateful that he's safe, and he's alive, and we have our son back. That's the most important thing ever for us."

Since Oswalt mysteriously went missing, Suzanne and Flint kept looking for him and were clueless about his whereabouts. After the police found him, the couple was still unsure how their teenage son traveled 700 miles to Park City.

THE EMOTIONAL REUNION

Suzanne and Flint had moved to Idaho Falls after Oswalt's sudden disappearance. When the police found the missing teen, they sent him there after first ensuring he underwent medical evaluation and was cleared to go home.

When the boy reunited with his family, the entire room was in tears. The Summit County Sherif said everyone in his office who witnessed the emotional reunion was moved. Meanwhile, Suzanne shared her experience:

"What the sheriffs did is incredible. It was like winning a billion dollars!"

THE UNSOLVED MYSTERY

It's still unclear what Oswalt did during the years he lived on the streets, and the authorities are still trying to solve the mystery. His family said they had "false hopes" while he was missing and were speechless after reuniting with him.

It was nothing less than a miracle for Oswalt's family to see him after almost three years. "To find him alive is incredible," Flint said.

Despite not knowing where her son was, Suzanne's instinct told her she would reunite with him one day. The teenager spent almost three years wandering on the streets where he couldn't ask for help because he wasn't fluent in communicating with others.

The police recovering him and identifying him as a missing child was purely a miracle. Do you believe in miracles? Has something similar happened to you that made you believe in the power of the unseen? Please share your experiences with us in the comments section.

Enjoyed reading this story? Click here to read another about a 16-year-old girl who abandoned her newborn son, not knowing he would take a paternity test 30 years later and reunite with her.