A 12-year-old boy from Texas returned home from school last Friday only to discover that his apartment was empty, with his family nowhere to be found.

As reported by KWKT, after realizing his mother, Erica Renee Sanders, and her boyfriend, Keven Dwayne Adams, were absent, the boy went to a neighbor’s house for help. The neighbor then contacted the Copperas Cove police.

The boy informed the responding officer that Sanders and Adams had mentioned plans to move but hadn’t specified when. The neighbor also noted that the couple often forced the boy to leave their home.

Authorities reached out to the couple by phone, who claimed the boy’s uncle was supposed to pick him up. However, when police contacted the uncle, he denied any knowledge of such arrangements.

During the phone call, Adams reportedly expressed ongoing frustrations regarding his girlfriend’s son.

Child protective services were alerted and contacted the couple, who refused to disclose their location. Nearly six hours later, police successfully tracked down Sanders and Adams, arresting them on charges of abandoning or endangering a child without intent to return.