A boy missing for more than two years found in the closet of a child pornography suspect

RECKLINGHAUSEN, Germany - Authorities in Germany went to search the home of a man suspected of possessing child pornography -- only to find a teenager who had been missing for more than two years.
According to police in Recklinghausen, which is in the North Rhine area of Germany, officers on Friday went to search the home of a 44-year-old man who was suspected of distributing child pornography.
That's when investigators found a 15-year-old boy in a closet.
The teen had been living in a shelter following a "family crisis" when he disappeared back in 2017 at the age of 13, according to the BBC. Social workers reported him missing, but there were no leads as to his whereabouts.
The boy's mom spoke to German news outlet Bild am Sonntag after being reunited with her son, saying she barely recognized him. She said he looked like a "broken old man" and was still wearing the clothes he had on the day he disappeared.
Police said there was evidence the boy had been in the child porn suspect's apartment for a long time, but noted there was no indication he'd been held against his will.
However, his mom reportedly said her son told her he had been locked up for two and a half years and was not allowed to go outside.
The BBC said the boy is undergoing a psychological evaluation.
Police arrested the suspect following the search, where dogs trained to sniff out hard drives found various devices inside the home.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/22/europe/missing-boy-found-closet-intl-grm/index.html
 https://globalnews.ca/news/6330885/missing-boy-found-cupboard-germany/