Missing Boys Located in Austin, After 10 Day Search (VIDEO)
Two boys who went missing at the beginning of winter vacation have been found near Austin, Texas.
The boys were found unharmed with their father, Daniel Cleary. Their mother, Theresa Nash, expressed her relief.
"I'm ecstatic, I'm in shock," Nash told CNN after speaking with her boys on the phone.
Henry Cleary, 8, and his older brother, Ben, had been missing for 10 days from the Georgia home in Roswell. Daniel Cleary was taken into custody according to authorities, and charged with interstate interference with custody, a felony.
Cleary, who had an estranged relationship with his ex-wife, had taken the boys on a trip to Tennessee on December 19th, but failed to return them on the agreed date. Nash declared that she was unsure why Clearly had not returned the boys or any of her phone calls.
"He's trying to take care of them," she told CNN. "But I think it's a scary situation for everybody at this point."
The boys were supposed to return home on Wednesday; an Amber alert was issued on Thursday. Nash had stated that she was concerned for the boy's safety because Cleary had been under stress, was drinking, and had recently purchased a gun.
Authorities were unsure if Clearly had the gun, when the boys were discovered. Prosecutors will weigh whether or not to press charges. The boys were last seen on surveillance footage taken from a Wal-Mart camera in Tennessee on December 23 and 24.
"This vacation has been overdue. It's time to come home, and we welcome you home ... safely," Nash told CNN, begging Cleary to return home days before she was found. "Your whole family is behind this, as is my whole family. We are working together, and we really want you to come home."
Police found the boys after receiving a phone call from a person staying in the same hotel, who recognized the boys' faces.