The missing 13-Year-old Teenager
When the Barclay family learned that their son Nicholas was nowhere to be found, they called the police. It all began back on June 13, 1994 and this story has been shocking everyone around the world ever since… What makes Nicholas’ disappearance so incredible?
The first thoughts Nicholas’ mother was that he was going through one of his phases. The police also suspected Nicholas had a reason to leave home, but they’d soon discover that this case was going to be tougher than they imagined!
The Worst Day Ever
Nicholas’ mother was expecting her son to come home but realized something was off. In fact, the teen just vanished into thin air and was nowhere to be found. The whole world learn about this mysterious case…
Days passed and then months and it soon became clear the case was closed when police officers receive a call from thousands of miles about the missing teenager. Was Nicholas finally found? Was he all right? The family would soon find out the terrible truth about their kid…
Who Was Nicholas?
Nicholas Barclay may have looked like a regular teen, and his sweet looks actually hid some issues. His mother admitted Nick had some temperamental problems that got him in trouble. Although he was only 13 years old, even the police officers knew he was a rebel.
He had a difficult youth and his desire for attention made him argue with his mom, friends and the kids at school. What little friends he had, Nicky kept in touch with them until he vanished…
Nicholas’ Mother Couldn’t Control Her Own Child
It became even more difficult for Beverly Dollarhide, who was a single mother, to control her son. This is why she gave her brother Jason a call to come by and be some sort of father figure.
But none of them could have guessed what was about to happen soon after that! It all started with the day of June 13 when Nicky was enjoying his summer break by playing basketball with his friends…
Calling Home
Right before night came, Nicky went to use a pay phone and called home to have someone pick him up. That’s when his uncle Jason picked up the phone. He told his nephew to walk back home because his mother couldn’t come as she was sleeping after a night shift.
Since he didn’t want to wake her up, he thought Nicholas would be all right if he’d walked back home. But that was going to be the last time they’d hear from him!
Jason Finally Woke Up His Sister
As hours passed and Nicholas did not get home, Jason realized something was off. He woke up Beverly and told her about Nicky’s phone call and how it had been hours and he should have arrived by then.
The two called the police and although the family was concerned about Nicholas’ disappearance, the authorities told them they had to wait. Plus, the police officers had to be skeptical about this supposed disappearance. Why?
Nicholas Had a Juvenile Court Date the Next Day
You see, Nicholas had a juvenile court date on the following day, which made the police suspect the kid was missing to avoid showing up in the court. Moreover, this wasn’t the first time he had left home.
Add the heated argument with his mother before Nicholas went out to meet his friends, and the main theory was that he just ran away to avoid going to a juvenile detention home. But every time Nicky ran away from home, he’d come back after a few hours. He had never gone away for more than a day!
Turning Nicholas’ Case Into a Missing Persons Case
What was odd about Nicholas’ disappearance was that he only had around $5 on him that day and his clothes were untouched. That meant he didn’t plan to run away from home. Something happened to him!
It was unsettling, and as days passed, the San Antonio police turned his case into a missing persons case. Police officers made sure they got in touch with everyone Nicholas had met that day, which made for a very slow investigation. It was frustrating since there were no leads to help them…
There Were No Leads
Nobody knew what happened to Nicholas. Weeks and then months passed and nobody could come up with a theory or some evidence of the teen’s whereabouts. His photos made it to the news and still nobody called to report sightings…
The last time the kid was seen he was wearing purple track pants and had a pink backpack. Those colored clothes stood out and still nobody had seen him. He had only a few dollars on him, so he couldn’t be that far, they thought.
Did He Hitchhike a Ride?
There was a small possibility that Nicholas hitchhiked, which lowered the chances of finding him. Then, a few months later, police gets a phone call from Nicholas’ house that sent everyone into a frenzy. It was Jason who called to tell the police that Nicholas broke into the garage and when he was spotted, he ran away.
As the police quickly got to the house and investigated every little place, nothing was found. What if Jason was imagining or making it up? His report wouldn’t help, but it became part of a very unexpected turn of events!
Beverly Was Frustrated
Beverly also had a daughter called Carey Gibson, who was a few years older than Nicholas. Together with Jason, the three were frustrated Nicholas was still missing. The police found this case to be peculiar, but it’s nothing compared to what’s about to come…
Investigators, the police and the family had to wait for something to finally add up. They even added a n aged photo in their missing persons poster to make sure that Nicholas would be recognized once he grew up. But time passed and it is three years later when a phone call from Spain would shock the entire world!
A Scared Kid
One day, the San Antonio police officers got a call from Spanish officials, saying they had some information on a young man that claimed to be Nicholas Barclay. The Spanish officials explained how the boy was found…
The boy was found huddled in a phone booth, scared and shaking. He looked like he went through a lot, so the authorities sent him to a youth shelter until they’d figure out what to do next. That’s when everyone would learn what happened to Nicholas Barclay during the years he went missing…
Nicholas Was Kidnapped
The young boy told the authorities that he was kidnapped from his neighborhood and was sent to Europe. There he became part of a human trafficking ring, enduring endless abuse before escaping.
The American authorities were shocked to hear such a story and using the photo of Nicholas’ missing person’s poster, they said it was indeed the lost schoolboy Nicholas Barclay. But first, his family had to recognize him, so they called to tell them the news.
A Happy Family
Beverly and Carey were very happy to learn that Nicholas had finally been found. As the Texas family was preparing for an emotional reunion, nobody was expecting their lives to be turned upside down!
The family couldn’t afford a plane towards Spain, so with the help of the authorities, they agreed to send Carey to take her little brother home. When she saw the timid boy waiting in the hallway, she ran to embrace him!
It Was Nicholas!
Carey could not contain her happiness when she saw her brother wrapped in a scarf and wearing a baseball hat, sitting there timidly. She was relieved to see him and confirmed to the Spanish authorities that it indeed was Nicholas.
They cried and hugged, but those tears would soon become tears of anguish. You see, there was something wrong with her brother, everyone brushed it off until an eagle-eyed detective realized it! Here’s where thing really get weird!
Looking At Family Photos
Carey brought with her some old photos but it seemed Nicholas’ memory had been impacted by those traumatizing moments in Europe. His passport was finished and he could head home with his sister and finally embrace his mother.
What was strange was that Jason didn’t expect him at the airport. Nicholas’ mother was there, welcoming him with her open arms, finally hugging her boy. They got home and later on, Nicky’s story would shock the world once again, but this time for a whole other reason!
Something Was Off
Nicholas was timid and quiet, and outsiders thought that it wasn’t right. Moreover, everyone knew Nicky was thin, had blue eyes and blonde hair. He also had some tattoos and a gap in his front teeth.
The 16-years old Nicholas had a different eye color, a French accent and other physical features. But his family accepted his stories that the people that abused him had changed his eye color and altered his features so he wouldn’t be found. Then, he appeared on TV for an interview and everything changes!
Private Investigator Charlie Parker Sees Nicky
Private Investigator Charlie Parker had helped with this missing persons case ever since Nicholas went missing. He wanted to witness the TV interview at the Barclay home. The man had his suspicions about the boy but needed more evidence. Standing behind the cameraman, he whispered to the man “Zoom in on his ears!”
That’s when it all made sense! The investigator was 100% this boy wasn’t the real Nicholas Barclay! His ears were different from the kid’s ears and then more proof surfaces. What was going on?
He Got a Court Order
Using as proof the hair, the eye color and the different ears, Parker convicted the court to give an order and take the boy’s fingerprints, as well as run a DNA test.
When he first arrived, Nicholas and his family refused to do these things and when the results came, everyone was shocked, except for Parker! The evidence told the whole world that they’ve been looking at an imposter!
This Man Wasn’t Nicholas, He Was Frédéric Bourdin
It might be unbelievable, but the boy wasn’t Nicholas, it was a 23 years old man called Frédéric Bourdin. He was French and his story is so odd that it makes Nicky’s case the most peculiar missing persons case in the United States! You see, at home, Bourdin learned about Nicholas disappearing....
One day, a security guard told him he looked like the missing kid and Bourdin began researching about the kid, trying to look like him. He admitted to the police that he wasn’t Nicholas, but the kid’s family already knew it: “They didn’t believe a word that I said. But they were good at not showing it. I remember in Spain, Carey did everything for me. When I didn’t know something, she told me. That’s the house we used to live in. That’s my daughter, your niece. Do you remember that? Remember that, remember that, remember that, over and over again”.
The Family Denied It
The Barclays denied it all, saying that they were oblivious to the truth because they wanted too much for their Nicky to be back home. Now Nicholas’ case was once again opened. But as everyone wondered how the Barclays were so easily fooled, Bourdin had one more shocking claim about the family!
You see, it piqued Parker’s curiosity as well, since it involved Jason. Back at the airport, it seems as if Jason knew that the man wasn’t Nicholas since it was impossible for the kid to show up…
He Said Good Luck
Bourdin was certain that one of the Barclays had actually killed Nicholas and they were all playing along to hide this secret. P.I. Parker was pursuing a new lead, knowing the case was going to be opened for a while longer.
Could have Jason be the one that had a part in his nephew’s disappearance. Fast forward to when Bourdin got to the Barclay’s home, Jason told him ‘good luck: “When he came to see me, he didn’t look at me like Nicholas. He didn’t pretend to look at me like Nicholas. And he said ‘Good luck’ to me, and he left,” stated Bourdin. Parker began investigating the uncle…
Another Dead End
As he was trying to make sense of all this madness, Parker headed over to Jason’s and before even learning something useful about the missing kid, the authorities found Jason dead from an overdose.
Parker didn’t give up on his search, although there were no other evidence pointing them towards the right direction. Meanwhile, Frederic Bourdin’s fate would again shock an entire world! He had been arrested in 1998 and spent 6 years in jail, but he wasn’t done…
Frederic Bourdin Returned to France
After Bourdin served his jail sentence, the imposter went back to France and continued to deceive families that had lost their children. He impersonated a 14-year-old boy called Leo Balley, and then a 15-year-old Spanish boy named Francisco Hernandez-Fernandez.
Of course, as years passed, Frederic was having a tough time impersonating teenagers. He spent time in jail for both crimes. The notorious French-born serial imposter had been living under false identities for all his life! Then, it all stopped!
It All Stopped In 2007
Frédéric Bourdin had admitted to have had 500 fake identities and was obsessed to become someone else. He soon became known as The Chameleon. But in 2007, he gave up on his strange hobby when he met a woman named Isabelle.
He fell in love with her, they married and now they have 5 children! As a father and husband, he realized what he’d done and said that he would “never impersonate anyone again,” claiming that he had done it to find the “love and affection” he didn’t have when he was a kid.
The Chameleon
Over a decade has passed since Bourdin gave up on his old ways, but his story still makes headlines all over the world. That’s because many film producers and directors saw potential in such an intriguing story.
This is why you may have noticed that the 2010 movie The Chameleon and the 2012 documentary The Imposter were actually about Bourdin. The documentary was actually on the Nicholas Barclay impersonation. Sadly, nobody has heard of the real Nicholas Barclay ever since he went missing in 1994.