ROBBIE ROMERO - 7 yo (2000) - Santa Fe NM

A teenager has told police in Santa Fe, N.M., that he is Robbie Romero, a
boy who vanished more than 10 years ago at the age of seven.

Police spoke with the 18-year-old Wednesday night following a
confidential phone call alerting them that someone was claiming to be
Romero, according to detective Lt. Luis Carlos.

The teen told police he was indeed Robbie Romero and agreed to give a swab of his saliva for DNA testing.


Robbie Romero disappeared in June of 2000 as he was walking home from a
friend's house. The case was treated as a missing person case and a
homicide case, though a body was never found.

Police said that the man they spoke with Wednesday told them certain
details that were significant before deciding he didn't want to talk
anymore and walking away.

Carlos said that police do have some identification documents that match
the man they spoke with, though Carlos would not say if those documents
identify him as Robbie Romero.






"I'm going to have to remain stoic on that because I don't want to give
the family a sense of hope or not. We can't speculate. We are cops and
we have to know the facts first," Carlos said.

ABC News affililate KOAT
reports that the man told police had been living in a neighboring
state but had been in Santa Fe for years. He has not been questioned
about who took him, according to the report.

Police contacted the mother of the missing boy, Evelyn Romero, and told
her of the events. Carlos said she was reserved and did not want to get
her hopes up at the news. Police have also heard reports that the man
has met with Evelyn Romero, who was unsure whether or not it was her
son.

Police are monitoring the current whereabouts of the man in case the DNA
test comes back positive, in which case they will consider the case
closed. The DNA testing was sent to multiple labs in Santa Fe to
expedite the typically month-long testing process, police said.

Romero's older brother, Ronnie, was long held as a person of interest in
the case, though he was never charged. He died of a heroin overdose in
prison on unrelated charges in 2009.

In addition to Ronnie Romero's death, Robbie's father Rudy has also died
since Robbie disappeared. Evelyn Romero has publicly criticized the
Santa Fe police department for their mishandling of the case and their
accusations of Ronnie.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/robbie-romero-teen-claims-missing-santa-fe-boy/story?id=14530762

Robbie Romero's mother and brother have met with the teen claiming to be their long-lost family member and are unsure whether it's him.

Robbie Romero was
7 when he disappeared in June 2000 while walking home from a friend's
house. The case was treated as a missing person case and a homicide
case, though a body was never found.

On Wednesday, police learned that a man name Robert Terrezas was claiming he was Robbie Romero.


Terrezas made the eerie claim to Robbie's brother Ricky and told him he goes by Robbie's name, according to ABC affiliate KOAT. Ricky brought Robbie to the Romero's home where he met with Robbie's mother, Evelyn Romero. She then notified the police.

The police took a swab of saliva from Terrezas for DNA testing on
Wednesday night and expect those results to come back within a few days,
according to Santa Fe detective Lt. Luis Carlos.

Evelyn Romero said the she is unsure whether the teen is her long-lost
son, and that waiting for the DNA test results to confirm it has been
trying.

Evelyn Romero is also not dissuaded by the argument by Yolanda
Almendariz, Terrezas' mother, that the teen was born in Mexico and moved
with Almendariz to Utah years ago.

"This is my son, this is my son," said Almendariz, who showed local news station KOB childhood photos of the boy. "Friends call my son Robert Romero because they have the same face."

Evelyn Romero, however, isn't ruling out that Terrezas isn't her long lost son.

"I was noticing, the news media approached her yesterday and she showed
videos of a young child," which Almendariz said was Terrezas as a child.

"I don't think the videos were of Robert (Terrezas), they must have been
of her older son," Evelyn Romero told ABCNew.com. "That child was dark
complexioned. (Terrezas) doesn't think he looks like his siblings. He's
very light complexioned."

Evelyn Romero said that when she met with Robert, he told her that his
mother had no photos of him from when he was young, saying she left them
all in Mexico when they moved.

"As a mother you take photos wherever you go. That's what I thought about last night," she said.

Evelyn Romero added, "Well, you know, either way, if it is him, if it's
not him, of course the mother is going to say that's her son."

The mother says waiting for the DNA results is an ordeal.

"It is (hard), especially for Robbie's brothers and sisters, who have a lot of anxiety just not knowing," she said.

Romero said she has been telling her family to remain calm while they
await the results, which police expect to come back within a few days.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/robbie-romeros-mom-rule-teen-son/story?id=14536606

This is interesting. I can't wait to find out the results of the test. It would be a blessing to the mother if she were to find out her son was found and alive, but there will be a lot of explaining to do. The photos look similar but not close enough to tell they are the same person. It seems if the boy were 7 when he was abducted that he would remember. If he were 3 or 4 it's be a different story, but I'd think he could remember a traumatic event like this at 7 years old.

The ears are exact duplicates from what I can tell in these photos.

TomTerrific0420 wrote:The ears are exact duplicates from what I can tell in these photos.

Yes they are very close. There actually are a lot of similarities and it may be easier to tell if he was smiling in the adult photo. I hope they find out soon as it would be killing me as a mother in this situation. After the Jaycee case, I'm sure she's hopeful.

A Santa Fe man who raised a family's hopes by claiming he was a boy
missing for 11 years is not Robbie Romero, police said late Friday. DNA swabs taken Wednesday from Romero's mother and Robert Terrazas, 19, show they are not related, police said.
"The
result of the exam is that Mr. Terrazas is not Mrs. Romero's missing
child Robbie Romero," Santa Fe Police Chief Ray Rael said during a news
conference. "We informed Mrs. Romero of the DNA test results just before
this conference.
"The missing case of Robbie Romero will remain active and open."
Robbie
Romero disappeared during the evening of June 7, 2000, while walking
home from a friend's house, according to the initial report.
Friends
of Terrazas who also knew Romero's older brother took him Wednesday
evening to meet Evelyn Romero, Robbie's mother. The friends said
Terrazas reminded them of Robbie, shared traits with the Romero family
and they thought it was odd that he didn't remember his childhood.
Police
also learned of the meeting and arrived at the house where Terrazas's
agreed to the DNA test. The sample was tested at the state Department of
Public Safety lab and the results revealed at a news conference Friday
afternoon.
Evelyn Romero told News 13 Terrazas did resemble her
son although she didn't want to get her hopes up. News 13 learned that
after she heard the DNA results, she became very emotional and started
sobbing.
Earlier in the day she said she was hoping for closure
but would not stop searching for her son if the DNA results were
negative.
Since it can take weeks and sometimes months for DNA
test results to come in, the Santa Fe Police Department hired a private
firm to conduct the test.
Still, Rael said Terrazas will not
face charges or be forced to pay the department back. He said he did not
think Terrazas or anyone else had any intent to harm anyone with his
claims.
"I would be hard pressed to say it was a hoax," Rael
said. "I would probably classify it more as an unfortunate bizarre lead
that didn't pan out."
Police said Terrazas had referred to
Evelyn Romero as his birth mother. However on Thursday Yolanda
Armendariz told News 13 she was Terrazas's birth mother adding it
saddened her that he had taken another name.
She also said he had been suffering from emotional problems since a suicide attempt in July.
When
Robbie Romero first disappeared police first said it was likely he had
been abducted. Police searched extensively, worked with psychics and
bloodhounds and dug up parts of the Santa Fe landfill before saying the
boy might not have been with the friend after all.
At that point
they described the case as a homicide investigation with suspicion
falling on the older brother, Ronnie Romero, with some thought the boy
might have died accidentally and his body hidden.
Ronnie Romero
denied any involvement in the disappearance, and neither he nor anyone
else has been charged in the case. He also accused police of botching
the investigation and harassing the Romero family.
Ronnie Romero died of a drug overdose in 2008 while being held in the Santa Fe County jail on unrelated charges.
http://www.kasa.com/dpps/news/crime/dna-confirms-man-not-missing-boy_3943828

I am so sorry for Mrs. Romero. Although the ears were a match, I didn't think it was really Robbie because imo the eyes would not have changed so much and also, as posted, at seven years old he would have remembered. Her heart has been broken again.