Boy's abduction sheds light on domestic kidnappings
HOUSTON
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Dr. Dennis Mosier spends his days wondering if he'll ever see his son again.
"We have really no idea where he could be," he said.
Andrew Mosier, 13 at the time, lived with his father at their West University home. The neurologist at Baylor College of Medicine had been awarded custody several months before his son disappeared from his bedroom in August 2010.
"I told him how much I loved him and he said, 'Yeah I know.' I had no idea that the next day when I woke up, noticed his door was ajar and found him missing," Dr. Mosier said.
Andrew has mild physical and learning disabilities and requires medication. To make matters worse, Andrew is all his father has left. His younger son, Dean, died in a drowning accident.
"This is a situation where Andrew is endangered," Dr. Mosier said.
Authorities believe Mosier was abducted by his uncle. A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Doug Lazell, who may be in Colorado.
"The child is at extreme risk. You have a mentally ill abductor who has a long history of mental illness," attorney Laura Dale said.
Dale is a family law attorney and knows all too well Dr. Moiser is not alone.
Of the 800,000 children reported missing every year in the United States, about 200,000 are abducted by family members and 58,000 by non-family members.
"We should be just as concerned if not more so when the person who's alleged to have removed the child is a family member," said Randy Burton, founder of the watch group Justice for Children. "I can completely sympathize that someone in his position would think that heaven and earth ought to be moved in order to find this child."
Dr. Mosier just wants to be able to watch what's left of his sons growing years.
"I really hope and pray, every day I pray, that we'll get Andrew back," he said.
A felony warrant has been filed on the 52-year-old Lazell for unlawful restraint of a child. They could be in the Houston area or in Denver. If you have any information, contact police.
