By Dan Rozek
Chicago Sun-Times
CICERO, Ill. — Juan Miguel Gomez disappeared from his Cicero home in 2000 when he was 2½ years old, taken by his father to the family’s native Mexico.
His mother initially worked with relatives to try to find the boy before finally contacting Cicero Police in 2002, when the youngster already had been gone for two years.
Despite the delay, police in the west suburb worked diligently with the family and other law enforcement agencies to locate the boy and return him to his mother.
On Saturday, Juan - now 13 - and his mother, Gilma Torres, met for the first time in more than a decade in a tearful reunion in the lobby of the Cicero Police station. The boy’s older brother and sister also were present.
“It was touching,’' Cicero Police Supt. Bernard Harrison. “It’s nice to have a happy ending.’'
Torres declined to speak about her son’s return, a Cicero official said.
But Harrison said Cicero Police worked with other agencies, including the FBI and the U.S. State Department, to locate the youngster.
The boy’s father agreed through a relative six months ago to surrender the boy to his mother, but a relative had to retrieve him. He flew home with a relative this week.
“His mom was just thrilled,’' Harrison said.
The boy will have some readjusting to do: He knew English when he left, but he no longer remembers the language.
Cicero Police Chief Bernard Harrison joins Gilma Torres as she is reunited with her son, Juan Miguel Gomez, on Saturday, for the first time in more than a decade.
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