Casefile True Crime - Case 165: Nicholas Barclay

Episode Date: February 13, 2021

In 1994, 13-year-old Nicholas Barclay disappeared after playing basketball with his friends in his home town of San Antonio, Texas. Years went by with no sign of him. Just when his family thought all hope was lost, in October 1997 they received a call from a police officer in the Spanish city of Linares. Nicholas had been found wandering the local streets, alive and well. --- Narration – Anonymous Host Research and writing – Jessica Forsayeth Creative direction – Milly Raso Production and music – Mike Migas Music – Andrew D.B. Joslyn For all credits and sources please visit casefilepodcast.com/case-165-nicolas-barclay

Our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents. If you feel at any time you need support, please contact your local crisis centre. For suggested phone numbers for confidential support, please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website. Carrie Gibson cast the sideways glance at her 16-year-old brother Nicholas Barclay as they sat in a Spanish airport awaiting their flight home. He appeared on edge and didn't make eye contact, nervously jiggling his leg up and down. Meaning over, Nicholas whispered to his older sister that he was anxious about their impending

long flight to their home in San Antonio, Texas. Carrie tried her best to comfort him. As the loudspeaker advised the waiting passengers that it was time to board, she playfully elbowed Nicholas in the ribs. �Are you ready to go home?� she asked. Nicholas nodded. �Well, let's get the fuck out of here� she replied. Following a 15-hour flight, the siblings plane touched down in Texas on October 18, 1997.

Carrie waited while Nicholas grabbed a small suitcase which contained his only belongings from the plane's overhead compartment. Carrie coaxed her younger brother from the plane, explaining that their whole family was at the airport to welcome him home. Nicholas's mother, Beverly Dollahide, waited in anticipation. She watched from the jet bridge as passengers disembarked from the plane, craning her neck to spot Nicholas and Carrie. Other family members stood back, one with a video camera in hand to capture the momentous

occasion. After nearly three and a half years, Nicholas Barclay was finally home. More passengers emerged from the jet bridge and gradually the crowd began to thin. Carrie was amongst the last to disembark when Beverly spotted her. She pointed and waved, walking up the jet bridge with Nicholas, who ambled along with a slight limp. As they approached their waiting family, Carrie's 14-year-old son Cody rushed up to them to help Nicholas with his suitcase, while the rest of the family gathered around in awe.

Beverly studied her son. Nicholas's shaggy blonde hair fell around his eyes, which were concealed by his sunglasses. His mouth was covered by a handkerchief wrapped around his face. He looked older, but his nose was still the same, just like his uncle Pat's. Beverly went up to her son and embraced him tightly. She felt him bristle and told herself that given his suffering over the past few years, he might be resistant to human touch. I love you, she told him.

I love you too, Mum, Nicholas whispered. Three years and four months earlier, 13-year-old Nicholas Barclay left his family's San Antonio home in frustration. With a reputation for being a troubled teen, Nicholas frequently skipped school, and when he did attend, he was often in trouble for being disruptive. His home life was equally unstable. Local mother, Beverly Dollahide, was a high-functioning heroin addict who worked seven nights a week at a local doughnut store to provide for her family.

Nicholas often lashed out at Beverly, hitting and cursing at her, and the police had been called out on a number of occasions to break up arguments. In an attempt to control Nicholas's outbursts, Beverly asked her eldest son, Nicholas's brother Jason, to move in. Seeing Jason there initially diffused tension between Beverly and Nicholas, but as time went by, Jason, who was in his early 20s and also struggling with the drug addiction, became caught up in the family fighting. Their arguments could be heard from neighbouring properties.

On June 13, 1994, Nicholas decided to blow off some steam after a fight with his mother by shooting a few hoops at the local park. He had a lot on his mind. He already had a juvenile record and was due to face a sentencing hearing the following day. This was to address a recent event in which he had broken into a convenience store and stolen a pair of tennis shoes. One possible outcome of the hearing was that Nicholas could be placed in a group home, a

prospect that greatly distressed him. Before Nicholas left, Beverly pressed the $5 bill into his hand. Her only instructions were for him to be back home for dinner. She then retired to bed to sleep in preparation for her night shift at work. Later that afternoon, the phone rang at the house. Jason answered. It was Nicholas, asking if his mother could pick him up from the park. Jason told Nicholas that Beverly was still sleeping and he'd have to walk home.

Nicholas Barclay never made it home for dinner that night. The next morning, following her night shift at the doughnut store, Beverly reported Nicholas missing to local police. Nicholas had a history of running away from home and the officers were initially unconcerned by his disappearance. They speculated that Nicholas was avoiding his sentencing hearing and reassured Beverly that he would likely show up after a few days, as he had done in the past. Beverly couldn't shake the feeling that something more was amiss.

She and Nicholas's older siblings, Jason and sister Carrie, went about the neighborhood putting up flyers and door knocking in the hope someone had seen the blonde-haired, blue-eyed, slim teen. Police interviewed Beverly's neighbor, who told of the many arguments she heard coming from the house, particularly after Jason had moved back in with Nicholas and his mother. Things passed with no leads. Nicholas's disappearance gained little media attention. His family felt that authorities had minimal interest in trying to locate the missing teen.

Diagnosed with attention deficit disorder and naturally trusting of strangers, Beverly thought that Nicholas might have accepted a lift home with an unknown person and met with foul play. She spoke of her son's loving nature to anyone who would listen, hoping to sway the local perception that he was an unruly teenager. She remembered how affectionate he could be and thought about his tight, warm hugs often. Three and a half months after his disappearance, a small glimmer of hope that Nicholas Barclay was alive and well presented itself.

Jason was returning home one afternoon when he saw Nicholas trying to break into the garage of their low-set, modest, brick family home. When Nicholas caught sight of Jason, he ran, disappearing down the street. Jason phoned the local police and an officer was dispatched to the house. He conducted a search of the premises and the street blocks surrounding their home, but could find no sign of Nicholas. Despite this promising lead, there were no further sightings and the case turned cold. As the months and years went by, Nicholas's family came to the conclusion that he had

most likely died. Had he been alive, they were certain he would have reached out to them. His cocaine addiction spiraled out of control after his brother's disappearance and he checked himself into a rehab facility. Nicholas's sister, Carrie, who was 27 when her little brother went missing, told the media. It came to the point where you know you're not going to find him alive, but you just want to find out what happened to him. On October 7, 1997, the San Antonio Police Department in Texas received a phone call.

It was from a police officer in the bustling city of Linares, 300 kilometers south of the Spanish capital of Madrid. He introduced himself as officer Jonathan Dorian and told the police he had some important news. Nicholas Barclay had been found alive and well, wandering the streets of Linares. Jonathan Dorian advised the police that after questioning, Nicholas would be transferred to a local homeless shelter for children outside of Linares in the Spanish countryside while he waited to be reunited with his family.

He gave the San Antonio Police Department the contact details for the shelter, telling them that he was overseeing Nicholas's case there. An officer from the San Antonio Police Department phoned the donut shop where Beverly Dolohide worked to tell her the news. Beverly wasn't working at the time, so an employee scribbled down the contact details of the children's shelter in Linares. Comprehending the gravity of the situation, the employee phoned Beverly immediately and over the next few days, Beverly tried desperately to contact Officer Jonathan Dorian.

However, every time she called the shelter, she was met on the end of the line by someone who spoke no English, causing Beverly to hang up in frustration. After a few days, Nicholas's sister Carrie tried calling. The phone was answered by Officer Jonathan Dorian. She told Carrie that he actually had Nicholas sitting right beside him, however, he was too scared to talk to her on the phone. In his strong French accent, Officer Dorian explained to Carrie that Nicholas had confided in him that he had been abducted from his hometown in San Antonio and taken all over

Europe in secrecy. He had been sexually abused as part of a pedophile sex ring. Nicholas didn't recall much of his life prior to the abduction. Carrie began to cry, and Officer Dorian held out the phone to Nicholas so she could tell him how much she loved him. In response, Nicholas whispered, Take me home. Nicholas's family wasted no time in organizing to get Nicholas back.

Due to Beverly's fear of flying, Carrie volunteered to go to Spain to be reunited with Nicholas. Money was tight in the family, so Carrie's workplace paid for her ticket, allowing her to be with Nicholas as soon as possible. It was the first time Carrie had left the country. One week after the initial phone call from the San Antonio Police Department, Carrie Gibson arrived in Spain. She was met at the airport by employees of the shelter and driven out of Linares down the remote and winding roads into the Spanish countryside.

Carrie was nervous to set eyes on Nicholas after nearly three and a half years. She wondered what he had gone through to end up so far away from home. Arriving at the shelter, Carrie greeted the staff and was escorted to a concrete courtyard. She watched as children ran and played around her. Surrounding the courtyard were tall stone buildings that accommodated the children at the shelter. Starting up, she saw the curtains rustle to one of the rooms, and Nicholas's face peered out.

She waved to him, calling for him to come down so she could see him. Ten minutes passed before Nicholas arrived in the courtyard, wearing baggy clothes, a scarf, sunglasses, and a cap. He walked up to his sister apprehensively as she studied his face and touched his nose, commenting that it was just like his uncle Pat's. They hugged, and Nicholas whispered to Carrie how much he loved her. The two were escorted to a quiet visitor's room, where Carrie showed Nicholas photographs of their family that had been taken in the years he had been absent.

Nicholas declined to reveal how he had ended up in Spain, and Carrie didn't push him. Then he would open up when he was ready. Carrie held Nicholas's hand as they sat side by side, studying the familiar small tattoo of the letter T he had between his thumb and forefinger. Once they had spent some time reacquainting themselves, Carrie Gibson, along with the employees of the shelter, organized getting Nicholas home to US soil. Carrie phoned San Antonio FBI agent Nancy Fisher, who listened in disbelief as Carrie explained their situation.

In all her years working in the investigation of child abuse, the special agent had never heard of a child going missing in the USA to turn up wandering the streets of a European country years later. Although a Spanish judge had cleared Nicholas to return to the USA, immigration wouldn't allow it because he didn't have a US passport. Working with the US State Department and the US Embassy in Madrid, an emergency passport was organized for Nicholas the same day. When returned for her assistance, special agent Nancy Fisher requested that Nicholas

be interviewed promptly after he returned home, so his abductors could be investigated by her team. On November 4, 1997, Nancy Fisher stared at the teenage boy sitting across from her desk at the National Center for Missing and Exploded Children in San Antonio. He appeared very nervous and uncomfortable as Nancy questioned him about his ordeal. Little by little, Nicholas Barclay opened up and shared the terrifying details of his abduction from the very beginning. On June 13, 1994, he had been playing basketball at the local park when two young men approached

him. They began talking to Nicholas, and the next thing he knew, a cloth was pressed to his face and he passed out. Through the use of military planes overseen by high-ranking military officers, Nicholas had been taken to Europe and constantly moved to various locations. He wasn't alone. With him were dozens of other boys who had also been abducted, and like him, were being shipped around European countries to be used in the pedophile sex trade.

Nearly every night, Nicholas was drugged with chloroform and raped. His hands had been broken with a baseball bat, his left foot had been broken with a crowbar, and he had been tortured and experimented on. One such experiment involved his eyes being injected with various needles. Nicholas detailed the tactics that his captors used to confuse, disorient, and force him and the other boys to behave. He was beaten if he spoke English, and was forced to wear headphones that contained screaming voices saying, you are not you, in different languages over and over.

In order to disguise the boys, Nicholas Barclay told FBI agent Nancy Fisher that their hair was coloured, and a solution placed into their eyes to change their colour. As a result, his had changed from blue to a deep brown. Nicholas made his escape when someone left the door slightly ajar to the room in which he was being held captive. Sensing an opportunity, he ran out the door and found himself in a long corridor. During he wouldn't be seen, Nicholas ran the length of the corridor, finding an exit door at the end that opened out onto a street.

He then ran for his life. After a few hours, he came to the realisation that he was in Spain. Nicholas found a phone booth and called the police station, who picked him up. Nancy Fisher was deeply shaken by Nicholas' recount of the events he had been subjected to. She told him she was very sorry he had been through such a traumatic ordeal, and vowed to him that they would find Nicholas' captors, and work to free the other children who had been abducted.

Nancy instructed Nicholas and his family to refrain from any media interviews, explaining that it could compromise her team's investigative efforts if word got out that they were actively searching for Nicholas' captors. Nicholas Barclay and his family agreed. Following the FBI interview, Nicholas' family decided a routine approach would be the best way to help Nicholas adjust to his previous life. Because of Beverly's long work hours, he moved in with Carrie and her husband Brian in their secluded trailer park on the outskirts of San Antonio.

Due to a lack of space, Nicholas slept on a mattress on the floor of Carrie's son Cody's bedroom. He enrolled in the local high school, catching the bus to and from school every weekday. Similar in his classes, Nicholas quickly and easily made new friends. After school, he and Cody would hang out at the local skate park. It wasn't long before Nicholas had his first crush, a local girl named Amy, and the pair talked on the phone for hours. His family were extremely supportive of Nicholas and did their best to accommodate his every

request. However, it wasn't long before Nicholas' unruly side began to show again. Two weeks after returning home, he stole Carrie's car and went on a road trip, blaring his favorite pop artist Michael Jackson from the car speakers. He was arrested for speeding by local police in Oklahoma who agreed not to prosecute Nicholas due to his troubling history. He also got suspended from school and on occasion would fight with Carrie's son Cody. Nicholas' family forgave him every time, blaming the outbursts of behavior on his harrowing

ordeal while kidnapped. Following his trip to Oklahoma, Nicholas moved back in with his mother, Beverly. The one family member Nicholas hadn't seen in his first few weeks back home was his older brother Jason. Struggling with the drug addiction, Jason was in a rehabilitation center, but six weeks after Nicholas arrived home, he went around to see his little brother at a barbecue organized by the rest of the family. Jason regarded Nicholas in a standoffish manner, looking him up and down and refusing to hug

him. After a few minutes, Jason beckoned Nicholas to go outside where they could have privacy from the rest of the family. He gave Nicholas a gold cross on a necklace and said, good luck. He then walked away, leaving Nicholas surprised and confused. Despite Nicholas' family remaining tight lipped about his return, it wasn't long before local media got wind of the missing San Antonio scene who had been found in Spain and reunited with his family.

In November 1997, a producer from the tabloid television show Hard Copy hired private investigator Charlie Parker to do some digging around in the hope he could identify and meet the teenager for an exclusive interview. Charlie Parker, a former police officer with a special interest in tracing missing children, was well and truly up to the task. Known around the area as Gumshoe, the amiable Charlie Parker phoned FBI Special Agent Nancy Fisher to inquire about the child. She confirmed that the story told to him by Hard Copy was correct, however refused to

give out any details about Nicholas' Barclay or his family. Undeterred, Charlie began looking through missing persons in the area of San Antonio when he came across Nicholas. He tracked down Beverly Dollahide, who confirmed that it was her son who had returned home. After the FBI's wishes, Nicholas agreed to give a television interview. Reclined on the lounge in Beverly's house, Nicholas sat while camera crews set up around him. Wearing a tan leather jacket, sunglasses, and a wide-brimmed fedora-style hat, Nicholas

explained the details of his capture to the listening reporter. As well as featuring on Hard Copy, excerpts of the interview were taken to play on that evening's local nightly news. Sitting behind the camera crews, private investigator Charlie Parker watched on. Aged in his 50s, the well-liked detective watched as the interviewer asked Nicholas about details of the rape he had been subjected to. Charlie spent many hours of his own time working for a charity that dealt with unsolved children's murders, and as he observed Nicholas before him, he knew that something wasn't right.

There were many inconsistencies that struck Charlie as odd about the teen's behaviour. He spoke with a thick French accent, although Nicholas explained this was because he was not allowed to speak English while being held captive. Noticing a photograph of Nicholas Barclay as a child nearby, Charlie picked it up. As he studied it, he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Charlie was immediately struck by the stark difference in eye colour between the photograph and Nicholas sitting on the lounge in front of him. Charlie recalled an article he had read.

The piece was about how Scotland Yard identified Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassinator James Earl Ray at London's Heathrow Airport by comparing a photograph of his ears. A person's ears are as unique as a set of fingerprints. Earlier that night, on his personal computer, Charlie compared a still taken-from-the-days interview with a missing poster depicting Nicholas at the time of his disappearance. Using Adobe Photoshop, he aligned the ears for comparison. They were close, but not a match. He had no idea who the person was who had given the interview earlier that day, but

Charlie Parker was sure of one thing. It was not Nicholas Barclay. Charlie phoned special agent Nancy Fisher. She listened to his theory, but initially dismissed it, as Nicholas's own family had identified him and was certain that the teen was Nicholas Barclay. Recalling the FBI interview with Nicholas, Nancy remembered that she was initially struck by his appearance. She was expecting a teenager with light features and was surprised when someone who seemed

much older than a teen with dark eyes and a five o'clock shadow presented himself. Although his hair was blonde, he also had dark roots coming through as regrowth. Using some research, Nancy learned that there was one drug to treat glaucoma that could alter eye colour, but certainly not to the extreme where they would change from blue to brown. Meanwhile, the investigation into Nicholas's kidnapping as part of an international sex ring was going nowhere. Although going into great detail about the physical and psychological trauma he endured,

Nicholas could not recall any details that would assist the investigation, such as locations or descriptions of his captors. In February 1998, four months after Nicholas returned home, special agent Nancy Fisher spoke with Dr Bruce Perry. She needed advice from the world-renowned forensic psychiatrist who specialised in children suffering from trauma. Dr Bruce Perry was the husband of Arliss Perry, featured in episode 137 of Case File. Nancy organised for Dr Perry to interview Nicholas.

The hope was he could extract from him some useful information that would further the investigation. Dr Bruce Perry also agreed to assess whether Nicholas was an American and put to end the speculation that he was someone else. Nicholas was flown to the Texas Children's Hospital and met with Dr Bruce Perry. As soon as Nicholas introduced himself, alarm bells rang for Dr Perry. He listened as Nicholas recounted his ordeal, noticing that he did not display any of the physiological or behavioural features commonly associated with those recounting traumatic

events, such as dilated pupils, edginess and an upright posture. Instead, it appeared that Nicholas was retelling a story, one that had not happened to him. After interviewing Nicholas for several hours, the biggest red flag to Dr Perry that Nicholas was not who he claimed to be was his French accent. Dr Perry phoned Nancy Fisher, explaining that had Nicholas spent the years before his abduction in the USA, he should have reverted to an American accent, not the thick French accent he was unable to drop. He told Nancy that he could guarantee the person presenting as Nicholas Barclay was

not raised in an English speaking family. As Nicholas boarded the flight back to San Antonio, Nancy Fisher called Carrie. She told Carrie that the male person who returned to them could not possibly be Nicholas Barclay because there was no way that this person was born an American. In response, Carrie screamed and yelled out, oh my god. Nancy warned Carrie not to meet Nicholas at the San Antonio airport as she had planned to do, advising that he could be an extremely dangerous individual. Instead, Nancy would meet him at the airport and handle the situation herself.

She calmed Carrie and told her that on no one's certain terms would she be required to take this person back home with her. As Nancy Fisher organized her plan, she was left with one major lingering question. If the teenager wasn't Nicholas Barclay, then who was he? FBI agent Special Agent Nancy Fisher waited at the San Antonio airport for the man posing as Nicholas Barclay to land following his psychiatric interview with Dr. Bruce Perry. She planned to detain him for the purpose of obtaining a DNA sample and fingerprints as a means of identifying him.

To her surprise, she saw Carrie Gibson waiting for him to arrive, despite her warning that he could be extremely dangerous. She approached them as the imposter and Carrie embraced. Carrie showed no signs of being frightened, nor did she question him about his identity. She seemed excited to see him and inquired about his trip to Houston. It was as though the whole conversation between herself and Carrie had never taken place. After seeking advice from the assistant U.S. attorney, Nancy allowed the imposter to return home to Beverly's house with Carrie Gibson.

She knocked on Beverly Dollahide's door a few days later. The imposter voluntarily agreed to go with her to get a blood sample for DNA testing. Once inside the clinic, he became infuriated, stating that the nurses were staring at him as if he were a freak. The imposter left the clinic, refusing to cooperate with Nancy's request. Nancy was also not cooperating, refusing to give a blood sample to Nancy so she could confirm the two were related. Instead, she threw herself on the floor of her home, telling Nancy that she knew he was

her son and didn't have to prove it. Openly hostile, Beverly accused Nancy of trying to take Nicholas away from her for a second time. The imposter continued to protest that he was Nicholas Barclay, and, unable to force the family for DNA testing while she waited for a search warrant, Nancy decided to employ a different tactic to prove to Nicholas's family that he wasn't their son. She took photographs of him and other family members to a forensic artist at the FBI to compare bone structures of the individuals.

After her surprise, the artist concluded that the photographs showed more similarities than differences. In addition, the imposter, whose case was still being pursued by private investigator Charlie Parker, agreed to sit for a polygraph test on television. When asked if his identity was Nicholas Barclay, he passed. In early March 1998, Nancy Fisher received a search warrant enabling her to take blood samples and fingerprints from the imposter. With no other option, he angrily obliged, and Nancy sent the results to Interpol in

the hope they would find a match. While waiting on the Interpol results, the imposter shared some further information with Nancy Fisher about his abduction. According to the age, when he had been abducted, he was held for a time with a teenage boy named Till Cratch from Berlin, who had been kidnapped a year after him in July 1995. When Nancy checked the records, she found the missing boy. She contacted his mother, who agreed to fly from Berlin to San Antonio. Till's mother sat with the imposter and PI Charlie Parker.

Charlie drew the outline of a body to test the imposter, and asked him to mark on the outline any distinctive markings or scars the boy had. The imposter took the paper and marked some scars on various parts of the outline. As soon as Till's mother looked at what he had done, she knew he was lying. Till had a prominent scar on his forehead that would be immediately noticeable to anyone who had seen her son. The next day, the imposter met with Charlie Parker in a local diner. The private investigator was of the opinion that the imposter was a terrorist or a spy

sent to infiltrate the USA through an American family. She asked to meet to discuss a phone call he had received the night before from Beverly. She had called Charlie in tears, explaining that a friend had given Nicholas a lift in her car and driven past a block of flats they used to live in for years. Nicholas had loved living there and knew nearly all the residents. After her surprise, he mentioned nothing about his life there, and Beverly admitted to Charlie that she was having her doubts that it was Nicholas after all. They ordered hotcakes and took a seat at a booth as Charlie explained to the imposter

the details of the call, concluding, your mother's real upset. In response, the imposter stared Charlie in the eyes and said, My name's not Nicholas and you know it. Charlie felt his heart beat faster as he asked the person in front of him who he was. He replied, I'm Frederic Baudin and I'm wanted by Interpol. Like Nicholas Barclay, Frederic Baudin also had a troubled childhood. He was born in Nantes, France on June 13, 1974, to 17-year-old Jislin Baudin and an Algerian father whom Jislin met at the Margerine factory where they worked.

When Jislin discovered she was pregnant, she also found out that the father was married with children, so she quit her job and never told the man about the pregnancy. Frederic suffered a miserable childhood. He inherited his father's olive skin, dark hair and dark eyes and often dealt with racial insults for being the son of an Algerian living in France. As a young child, Frederic did not receive much love from his mother and when he was approximately five years old, his mother sent him to live with his maternal grandparents in Mouchamp, a region of France 400km southwest of Paris.

He would make up stories to his classmates as to why he was fatherless, including that his father was a British secret agent. At 12 years old, Frederic Baudin became difficult to handle and frequently misbehaved. Still to look after him anymore, his grandparents sent him to live at a private facility for juveniles in Nantes. Frederic enjoyed his time in the home and lived there until he was 16 when he was moved to another home for older children. In this home, Frederic began to rebel, running away for short stints only to be picked up

and returned to the home by local police. He began to lie to the police, telling them tall tales and watching how they would respond. Dreaming of a life in England, Frederic hitchhiked to Paris and told officers he was a British teenager named Jimmy Sale. The police officer discovered that Frederic spoke little English and he soon confessed to the lie and returned to the youth home. This was the start to years of deception. Once Frederic turned 18, he was released from the children's home to build a life for himself.

Frederic missed the comfort and care of the children's home, so he began to pose as various children, creating fake aliases and moving from shelter to shelter around Europe, leaving before his true identity was uncovered. He was caught out multiple times and had his fingerprints on record with Interpol for ease of future identification. In October 1997, Frederic Baudin, aged 23, phoned the local police in Lanárez, Spain. He remained anonymous, telling the police that he was a tourist who had come across a frightened teenager in a phone booth who wouldn't speak to him.

He estimated that the boy was approximately 14 years old. Police officers arrived at the named phone booth to find Frederic Baudin posing as the terrified teen inside. After being coaxed out of the phone booth, Frederic was taken back to the police station where he refused to talk to officers and barely made eye contact. Faced in baggy clothes with a basketball cap pulled over his eyes, Frederic eventually confessed that he had been sexually abused but refused to elaborate or identify himself. With no reason to keep him at the station, the police organized for him to be transferred

to a local children's shelter in Lanárez. At the shelter, Frederic Baudin was questioned further about his identity. Refusing to name himself, his case was handed over to a child welfare judge who told Frederic he had 24 hours to prove he was a teenager or he would be photographed and fingerprinted. Given that Frederic's prints were on record, he decided he needed to come up with a plan to prevent this from occurring as he would likely face jail time. He considered running away but the staff at the shelter were keeping too close an eye on him for him to make a break.

Instead, Frederic Baudin felt he only had one option, he needed to become someone else. Frederic Baudin had always dreamed of going to the United States of America. In the land of the free, he figured he could reinvent himself and live a life of opportunity. Frederic told the staff at the children's home that he was an American who had run away from home. He promised them that he would identify himself but asked if he could phone his family in the US first. The concerned staff agreed and allowed Frederic to spend the night in the office so he could

use the phone overnight to allow for the time difference between the two countries. Frederic thought of where he wanted to live. Seattle was of interest to him, so when he was alone in the office he phoned local police stations of Seattle, introducing himself as police officer Jonathan Dorian. He explained he was calling from Spain and that he had found a teenager he was sure was from the USA but was not cooperating with him. Frederic listed off his own features. He was careful to keep them vague enough to match the descriptions of multiple missing

teenagers. Short, slim build, prominent chin, brown hair and a gap between his teeth. He was put through to the center for missing and exploited children in Arlington, Virginia. He gave the same story to the woman on the line and waited while she looked through her records. After a moment, she told Frederic that she had a missing child who might be the teenager they were looking for. She read out the details of Nicholas Barclay, missing from San Antonio, Texas for three

years and four months. Although not in his dream city of Seattle, Frederic asked the woman to fax through a photo of Nicholas and anxiously waited as his details came through to the office fax machine. It was of poor quality and as Frederic studied the photograph, he thought he looked similar enough to pass as the team. They are speaking on the documentary The Imposter. If he's been missing for three or four years, guarantee one thing, there will be a change.

If there is a change, there will be doubt. If there is doubt, then I got a chance. He told the center for missing and exploited children that the teen he had in front of him was indeed Nicholas Barclay and he was given the number of the San Antonio Police Department who in turn contacted Nicholas's family. He also finally told the staff at the children's home his name, Nicholas Barclay. The next day, Frederic intercepted an urgent letter sent from the center for missing and exploited children addressed to Jonathan Dorian at the children's home.

It contained a higher quality image of Nicholas Barclay. When Frederic bored in first laid eyes on the photograph, his heart sank. With blond hair, blue eyes and fair skin, Frederic did not come close to resembling Nicholas. He was told by center employees that the US Embassy was on their way to meet with him and in a panic, Frederic tried to run. He was picked up trying to hitchhike out of Linares by the US Vice Consulate and a staff member of the shelter and returned to the home. Not seeing any other way out of his predicament, Frederic said about trying to disguise himself

to look like Nicholas. He dyed his hair blonde and noting Nicholas had a visible tattoo, met with a teen at the shelter who did small tattoos. She tattooed the letter T on his left hand between his thumb and forefinger with the ink from a pen and a needle. The final result looked just like Nicholas's. Although it remains unclear how, Frederic was present in the staff office alone when Nicholas's sister, Carrie, phoned the shelter looking for him.

He pretended to be Officer Jonathan Dorian. Because Carrie was so desperate to speak with Nicholas, he pretended to be him, whispering take me home to her. In the next few days, Frederic was informed by the director that Carrie was on her way to the shelter to come and get him. Certain that he would be uncovered, Frederic locked himself in his room. When Carrie arrived, he donned the baggiest clothes he could find as well as sunglasses, a scarf and a cap to try and disguise his features.

After his utter surprise, Carrie Gibson did not balk when Frederic approached her in the courtyard, instead accepting he was Nicholas Barclay immediately. As they sat together looking at family photos, Frederic made vague comments like, Mum looks the same, to the delight of Carrie. Frederic couldn't believe he made it this far, but he still had one final hurdle before he could make it to the USA. The child welfare judge responsible for sending Nicholas home was not convinced Frederic was Nicholas Barclay.

He ordered Frederic be shown five photographs from Carrie's photo album in his presence, so he could watch Frederic identify those in the images. The judge was unaware that Carrie had already shown the photos to Frederic, and so he was able to correctly identify people in the first four photographs. In the last photo, Frederic made an error, but by that time, the judge was already convinced the 23-year-old French-Algerian man before him was 16-year-old American Nicholas Barclay. Carrie Gibson was equally as convinced, believing that his mannerisms, including speaking with a French accent and whispering, were due to the trauma he had suffered.

On October 17, 1997, Frederic was photographed and given an emergency U.S. passport under the name Nicholas Barclay. He was free to go. Arriving in Texas, Frederic was stunned when the rest of the family accepted him as Nicholas. Although life on the outskirts of San Antonio was not the streets of a bustling city that Frederic had pictured, he felt like he was living the American dream. He played the part of Nicholas, rummaging through drawers when he was alone, studying photos of him dotted around the house and copying his mannerisms.

Once he gave the interview to FBI agent Nancy Fisher, he was certain he had got away with the deception. Over time, Frederic began to relax, but was forever concerned that the real Nicholas Barclay would come home and he would be found out. He agreed to give the television interview with the hope that the media attention would further cement the belief he was Nicholas Barclay and endear the public to him. After Frederic bore Dinn's confession at the diner, Charlie excused himself and phoned Nancy Fisher, who had also received the same information from Interpol after his fingerprints

were positively identified. She asked Charlie to keep him talking at the diner while she arrived with an arrest warrant. While he waited, Charlie stalled Frederic by getting him to open up about his life and the previous identities he had stolen. Frederic was taken into custody soon after, four and a half months after coming to America. He was held in the Wilson County Jail in Floresville, Texas on counts of perjury and attempting to steal a passport. While awaiting trial, Frederic used the phone at the jail to call hundreds of families

of missing children. By using call collect, he convinced these families he had information about their lost children, information that was completely false. When asked in a television interview why he did this to such vulnerable families, Frederic didn't answer, instead, just shrugging his shoulders. Nicholas Barclay's family were bereft. In the documentary The Imposter, Carrie Gibson said her first feeling was complete sadness because they were back to square one.

Her second feeling was, how could she be so fucking stupid? As Frederic Baudin said in his jail cell, he had plenty of time to mull over his life as Nicholas Barclay. He was surprised himself that he was accepted so easily into the family with no questions asked. He thought back to his first meeting with Carrie at the Spanish Children's Home. At the time he hadn't thought much about it, but looking back, he remembered how Carrie had spoon fed information to him about his relatives in the photographs, telling him

who they were and important facts about each person. He also thought back to the family barbecue where Nicholas's brother Jason had wished him good luck and said nothing further, as if he knew Frederic was an imposter. Frederic could also never understand why Nicholas's mother Beverly was so against having blood taken to confirm a familial link between the two, especially when there was evidence that the person she called her son was not so. If it were the other way around, Frederic would have had the blood test to put the matter to rest once and for all.

After Beverly visited Frederic in the county jail one day, Frederic picked up the phone and called the San Antonio Police Department. He knew that Nicholas was deceased, and he knew who was responsible. The San Antonio police officer listened as Frederic explained Beverly Dullahide had visited him in his cell and confessed that she and Jason had killed Nicholas and disposed of his body. According to the New Yorker, Baudin also alleged that one night prior to his arrest, Beverly got drunk and screamed at him.

I know that God punished me by sending you to me. I don't know who you are. Why the fuck are you doing this? That, along with Frederic's other recollections of his time with the family, was enough to warrant the opening of a homicide investigation into the murder of Nicholas Barclay. Nicholas's family were outraged that law enforcement would believe the word of a conman. Beverly angrily denied telling Frederic that she or Jason was in any way responsible for Nicholas's disappearance or death.

Despite this, Nancy Fisher and private investigator Charlie Parker both believed that his claims warranted further investigation. They were of the opinion that Jason's sighting of Nicholas breaking into the family garage months after his disappearance was a red herring so officials would still believe he was alive. Beverly took a polygraph test. The question asked was whether she currently knew the whereabouts of Nicholas Barclay. Beverly answered no and passed.

Nancy Fisher wasn't convinced so had the test repeated a second time. Beverly passed that one too. Repeating the test a third time with the same question, Beverly Dolly Hyde failed the test badly. The polygraph told Beverly that it appeared she knew what happened to her son, causing Beverly to run out of the room screaming. She claimed that if Jason had done anything to Nicholas, she wasn't aware of it. She believed Beverly passed the polygraph the first two times because she was under

the influence of drugs while the third time she was clean. When interviewed, Jason appeared apathetic towards his brother's disappearance. According to the New Yorker, during the interview, Nancy Fisher developed a very strong suspicion that Jason had participated in the disappearance of his brother. Several weeks later, Jason died from a cocaine overdose. Having been off drugs for more than a year, Nancy and Charlie believed it was a suicide. When Charlie asked Beverly her opinion, she simply said, I don't know. The homicide investigation was eventually closed due to lack of evidence.

There were no witnesses, no DNA evidence, or even proof that Nicholas Barclay was deceased. Prosecutor Jack Stick concluded that Jason's death had all but precluded the possibility that Nicholas's disappearance would ever be solved. Carrie Gibson, who suffered a nervous breakdown after Frederick Borden's arrest, remained furious at him. Carrie told the documentary The Imposter. He put us through enough already, and then for him to do this while he's in jail for what he's done and cause more pain for our family, fuck him.

PI Charlie Parker went down a different investigative route under the strict belief that someone in Nicholas's family was responsible for his disappearance. As filmed for the documentary The Imposter, Charlie arrived on the doorstep of Nicholas's former home and spoke to the new resident. The owner took Charlie out to the backyard, indicating a spot in the corner against the boundary fence, explaining that when he first moved in, his pet dog would constantly dig at the area. He was mowing the area one day when he uncovered a piece of tarpaulin material in the ground.

With the owner's help, Charlie Parker dug up the area himself, but failed to reveal any evidence in Nicholas's disappearance. Beverly Dolly Hyde agreed to speak to the New Yorker and told them that when Jason was on cocaine, he became totally wacko, a completely different person, and it was scary. Whilst she believes he falsified the account of seeing Nicholas at their garage months after his disappearance, she didn't believe Jason could have hurt Nicholas. Frederick Baudin spent the remainder of his time in jail phoning local media and offering stories of how he had been able to dupe the family of Nicholas Barclay.

Coincidentally, also a diehard fan of Michael Jackson, Frederick passed the time by copying his famous choreography in his cell. Charlie Parker explained he had been able to pass the polygraph test on television because he was so good at lying that he had convinced himself he was Nicholas Barclay. Frederick also confessed he had seen information about missing Berlin teenager Till Cratch when he had been interviewed by Nancy Fisher at the Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Using delimited information, he constructed the tale of knowing Till in an attempt to solidify his failing alias as Nicholas Barclay.

On September 9, 1998, Frederick Baudin accepted a plea bargain claiming responsibility for fraudulently obtaining a passport and perjury for posing as Nicholas Barclay. The charge of lying to an FBI agent was dropped. He faced a maximum of 25 years imprisonment and $750,000 in fines. At the hearing, Cary said, He has lied and lied and lied again, and to this day he continues to lie. He bears no remorse. According to the New Yorker, prosecutor Jack Stick compared Baudin to a flesh-eating bacteria.

On November 30, 1998, Frederick Baudin was sentenced to six years imprisonment in an American jail. Afterwards, he would be deported to France, where he was also wanted by Interpol to face a four-month jail sentence for insulting a magistrate. Frederick told the courtroom, I apologize to all the people in my past for what I have done. I wish, I wish that you believe me, but I know it's impossible. Whether in jail or not, I am a prisoner of myself.

Frederick Baudin was deported to France in October 2003. After serving his time and living only three months as a free man, he was caught trying to pose as 14-year-old missing child Leo Ballet. On May 3, 2005, 30-year-old Baudin approached a child welfare office in France, claiming to be 14-year-old Spanish-born Francisco Hernandez Fernandez. He was sent to a St. Vincent de Paul shelter, where he became most popular with the young children housed there. Frederick was uncovered five weeks later after a staff member working at the shelter

recognized him from a television show she had watched the night before about the imposter. According to The New Yorker, one of the police captains assigned to the case said, When he talked in Spanish, he became a Spaniard. When he talked in English, he was an Englishman. Of course, he lied. But what an actor. Authorities were unsure what crime Frederick had committed, as it was not done for any criminal purpose, but due to Frederick wanting attention and affection from others.

He ended up receiving a six-month suspended sentence. Frederick had over 18 child aliases known to Interpol, impersonating children in Europe from all over the world, including Mexico and Australia. His ability to speak five different languages greatly aided him in deceiving others. Frederick himself claims to have created over 500 different aliases in his lifetime. On his right forearm, Frederick bears a tattoo, Carme Leon Nonte, chameleon from Nantes. When asked why he stole identities, Frederick told The Age, I never really accepted to be an adult.

I am not a criminal. I am just a boy who will do anything that his brain knows how to do to get attention and love. My work is to get love. This is my work. I don't do drugs, don't kill people, rape children. I tell stories that will get people to care for me. This is my job.

On August 8, 2007, Frederick married a French woman named Isabella. She was studying to be a lawyer and tracked Baudin down after seeing him on television in France, where he has since acquired a somewhat celebrity-like status. According to The New Yorker, he invited his mother and grandfather to the wedding ceremony. However, both declined to attend, thinking that it was another one of his lies. Frederick and Isabella moved to a small town in France. He became a father and now has five children. Videos on his YouTube channel show him and his children dancing happily to Michael Jackson's

music. The whereabouts of Nicholas Barclay remain unknown.