Miami

Jojo Morales, Missing Miami-Dade Boy Found in Canada, Reunites With Mom

Jorge "JoJo" Morales flew back to Miami Tuesday, said his mother, Yanet Concepcion

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A 6-year-old Miami-Dade boy who authorities said was kidnapped by his father and taken to Canada reunited with his mother Tuesday.

Jorge "JoJo" Morales was wrapped in a hug from his mother, Yanet Concepcion, after landing in Miami.

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"I missed you so much," Concepcion said through tears and joyful laughter after JoJo ran into her arms.

Earlier, Concepcion shared a photo of the boy on the plane.

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Jorge "JoJo" Morales
Yanet Concepcion
Jorge "JoJo" Morales

"I'm sorry, I can't stop crying. I'm so happy," Concepcion said before reporters Tuesday night. "I missed that boy so much."

In honor of her son's safe return, Concepcion said she was going to recreate Halloween and her birthday, which he missed while he was gone.

Morales had been missing since Aug. 27 after his father failed to return him to his mother as part of a custody agreement, authorities said. He was found Sunday in New Brunswick, Canada, after a tipster spotted the boy with his father at a Walmart.

NBC 6 anchor Cherney Ahmara has the emotional moments when mother and son were reunited Tuesday.

The tipster called police from a Walmart in Moncton saying he saw the father and son shopping, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

"I called her and we both started to cry," Concepcion said. "I just want to meet her."

Police responded and arrested the father, also named Jorge Morales. They also arrested the boy's grandmother, Lilliam Pena Morales, after they found her about 45 minutes away from the Walmart.

Earlier this month, the FBI had offered a $10,000 reward for the child's return as a private investigator released surveillance video of the boy and his father at a Walmart in Maine just days after he was reported missing.

The elder Jorge Morales and his mother were wanted for the interference of custody and concealing a minor contrary to a court order.

An Amber Alert had been issued on Aug. 29 for the boy.

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