GA Boy Missing For 7 Years Found Safe In Colorado

ATLANTA, GA — An Atlanta boy who has been missing for seven years was recently safely found in Colorado, and his mother and stepfather face charges in connection with his disappearance.

The Douglas County, Colorado, Sheriff's office on Wednesday announced the recovery of Abdul "Aziz" Khan, who disappeared from Atlanta when he was 7 years old on Nov. 27, 2017. He is now age 14.

“We're overwhelmed with joy that Aziz has finally been found," Khan's family said in a statement released by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. "We want to thank everyone for their support over the last seven years. Now, as we navigate the next steps, we ask for privacy so that we can move forward as a family and heal together.”

Authorities said deputies responded to a burglary in progress around 3:30 p.m., Feb. 23, to a Kelliwood Way home in Highlands Ranch, Colorado.

Two people, later identified by authorities as Khan's non-custodial parents, were accused of unlawfully entering a vacant property that was listed for sale. Authorities said the homeowner who was monitoring security cameras saw suspicious activity and notified police.

Two children were in a parked car in the driveway at the time, and the parents were leaving the home when deputies arrived, authorities said. The parents — who authorities identified as the boy's mother, Rabia Khalid, 40, and stepfather, Elliot Blake Bourgeois, 42 — claimed to be linked to a real estate agent, authorities said.

"Their story began to unravel as the deputies and dispatchers worked for four hours to verify their identities," officials said in a news release.

Investigators determined there was an active kidnapping warrant against Khalid and said they discovered Khan, who was the older child of the two, was the victim of a kidnapping.

Douglas County, Colorado, Sheriff Darren Weekly said Khan seemed to have been coached on what to say during a possible encounter with law enforcement. He added the children were found in good health.

The identity of the second child is unknown, and it is unknown if the child is related to Khalid or Bourgeois.

Authorities said both Khalid and Bourgeois were charged on suspicion of second-degree kidnapping, forgery, identity theft, providing false information to authorities and trespassing.

They were booked into the Douglas County (Colorado) Jail, and bond was set at $1 million each, authorities said.

The Douglas County District Attorney's Office said a preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 27 on state charges.

Khan and the other child were taken into protective custody, and a court will decide where the youths will be placed, authorities said.

"... A child is now safe, and a family can begin to heal," Sheriff Weekly said at a Wednesday news conference.

What Happened?

The NCMEC previously said the day Khan disappeared, Khalid did not appear for a custody hearing in Atlanta. Per the NCMEC, the U.S. Marshals Service said Khalid, who was an epidemiologist, "packed her bags and fled town" with Khan and Bourgeois.

Khalid had engaged in a years-long custody dispute with Khan's father, from whom she had been separated from since 2014, the NCMEC said. The former couple originally had shared custody of Khan, and Khalid relocated with Khan from New Orleans, Louisiana, to Atlanta for a new job, the NCMEC said.

Khalid was accused of complicating the ability for Khan to visit his dad, and the parents then began a custody battle that continued for several years, the NCMEC said.

"According to the U.S. Marshals, when it became clear that Rabia would lose custody of Aziz, she and her new husband, Elliot Bourgeois, vanished, taking Aziz with them," the NCMEC said.

Bourgeois and Khalid quit their medical careers, took Khan out of school, shut down their phones and disappeared, the NCMEC said.

“They did not show up at work one day, just out of the blue,” Deputy U.S. Marshal Brian Fair told the NCMEC in November 2023. “They fell off the map.”

Authorities are investigating what led Khalid and Bourgeois to Colorado.