Kidnapped Albany boy’s mother speaks out | News

ALBANY, Ore. – After her 13-year-old son was kidnapped and sexually abused in 2023, a mother is speaking out to share her story and offer parenting advice.

The boy’s mother, who would only go by her first name, Brittany, recalled the night her 13-year-old son went missing. It was unusual not to hear from him and when he wasn’t at the friend’s house she dropped him off as she got scared. She contacted law enforcement to report her son missing and was frustrated when they said they couldn’t send out an Amber Alert.

“They said she didn’t do it – he didn’t qualify because he went voluntarily,” Brittany said. “But if my child can’t voluntarily buy cigarettes or my child can’t voluntarily buy alcohol, my child can’t.” If he goes to the doctor alone, I don’t think there should be a “He went voluntarily” as soon as they found out she was over 16.”

Her son was dating Alyssa Thomas, who was 24 at the time.

Thomas and the boy were believed to be in the Portland area, so Brittany spent days finding and hanging posters with her son’s picture.

“It was crazy to see the streets of Portland at night and then think my child was out there,” she said. “And then when it was gone, like it was four nights and five days gone. So four nights she had. “It was really hard leaving Portland and coming home empty-handed and not having my child.

He was discovered five days later and returned to his family safely, but had problems. When she kidnapped him, Thomas sexually assaulted the boy. Brittany said it was challenging adjusting to life at home.

“He did go to school for a bit, but then he was often bullied or had a lot of problems,” she said. “So we just pulled him from there. He had a lot of fight or flight after that.” He just wasn’t sure what to do or where he belonged.

And while the boy was dealing with life at home, he still had to endure the legal process. Brittany said it was all so much that she decided not to have her son at Thomas’ sentencing in April 2024.

“I felt like exposing him to all that would have just made it a lot worse,” she said. “I don’t believe children belong in a courtroom. So he’s already had to go through the grand jury, he’s already gone through the prosecutor, and he’s already had to deal with the whole Alyssa thing.”

Brittany was present. Thomas was sentenced to almost five years in prison and must register as a sex offender upon her release.

Brittany said it was just the first step in bringing her son home. When he returned, he found it difficult to process what had happened. She said her son wasn’t feeling well at home, so he stayed in Salem for some time. But he set off from there saying he wanted to come home again. The young teenager turned to drugs and alcohol. But Brittany said they both turned things around thanks to the Linn County Adolescent Outpatient Alcohol and Drug Program. And it was these counseling sessions that helped her see a change in her son.

“Having someone who wasn’t me, wasn’t a family member, wasn’t a friend, that he could just talk to without judgment, no, you know, precursors or some idea. “Just someone he could listen to,” or someone who would listen to him,” Brittany said.

Brittany said she also had a hard time accepting what happened. As a mother, she said it felt like she wasn’t doing her job.

“It makes me feel like I’ve failed, but when I see him getting better, when I see him at home and see him happy and stuff, I realize that bad things happen and that sometimes it’s because of one “It happened for a reason,” Brittany said. “And hopefully that reason can be to help the community look out for everyone.”

One of the most important things Brittany said was that she couldn’t help her son heal until she helped herself heal.

“And I couldn’t heal until I, you know, realized what I was missing and realized where I had gone wrong and stopped focusing so much on what had happened rather than on what had happened. “What should we do now,” Brittany said.

Another important thing that has helped Brittany recover from all of this is the opportunity to help other people.

“If something like this happens to someone else’s child, I hope they know they can reach out to me and that I’m there to talk to them,” she said. “That, you know, me.” I’m by no means perfect, but I’ve been through the situation and can help deal with it. And I feel like I’ll always be an advocate now.”

Brittany originally started a Facebook group to help find her missing son, but now she is open to helping find missing people across Oregon. It has almost four thousand members.