Richard Wayne Landers Jr., Indiana boy abducted in '94, found in Minnesota

WOLCOTTVILLE, Ind. - A man who was abducted from Indiana by his grandparents when he was 5 years old nearly 20 years ago has been found alive, living in Minnesota, police said.

Richard Wayne Landers Jr., of Wolcottville, was abducted by his paternal grandparents, Richard E. and Ruth A. Landers, in July 1994 following a custody dispute, state police said.

Landers was listed as missing child and arrest warrants were issued for his grandparents, but after they hadn't been located by 2008, the charges were dropped.

In September 2012, new information gathered by the boy's parents led detectives to Long Prairie, Minn., where a man was found using Richard Landers Jr.'s Social Security number and date of birth, police said.

"The man's driver's license photograph even appeared to bear a potentially similar resemblance as to how the missing boy might look today," state police said in a news release.

Working with local authorities, police located the grandparents, who were also living in Minnesota using assumed names, and they admitted their true identities and that of Richard Landers Jr., who is now 24 and married, police said.

"It's nice to put closure to this case, and now the family can begin the process of reconnecting with their loved one," LaGrange County Sheriff Terry Martin said in a news release.