A six year-old reported missing by his dad’s girlfriend on May 27 may have vanished a month earlier, as an investigator warned he ‘does not have a good feeling’ about the case.
Samuel Olson turned six years old on Saturday, but he was not there to celebrate his birthday with his family.
Theresa Balboa, who is dating Samuel’s father, Dalton Olson, said she last saw the boy on May 27 in the 8800 block of McAvoy Drive in Houston.
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Samuel Olson, 6 (left and right), was reported missing by his father and the man’s girlfriend on May 27 in Houston, but police now say the last time anyone outside Samuel’s family saw him was on April 30
Samuel Olson’s father, Dalton Olson (pictured with his girlfriend Theresa Balboa) said the six-year-old is his ‘whole world’
‘I was going to take Sam to school when his mother showed up with the police officer, or who I was under the impression to be a police officer, and they demanded me to release Sam,’ Balboa told ABC13 on Monday.
But Houston Police Department Executive Assistant Larry Satterwhite told the press that investigators have been unable to verify Balboa’s version of events.
Satterwhite said that the last time anyone outside Samuel’s family saw him was at Holbrook Elementary School on April 30.
Dalton Olson and Samuel’s biological mother, who has not been identified, share custody of the child.
Theresa Balboa claimed that she was going to take Samuel to school when his mother showed up with someone dressed as a cop and took him away
Balboa said because she does not have any legal rights to Samuel, she was forced to hand him over to his birth mother and the person dressed in a full police uniform, complete with a gun, handcuffs and a Harris County badge.
However, Houston policy said Samuel’s mother told them she does not know where her son is.
‘I’ve literally tried to do everything from the very beginning to do what’s best for my son,’ Dalton Olson said. ‘That is my whole world and I can’t imagine if anything happened to him and I believe he’s still out there.’
It has since emerged that Samuel may have been seen at an apartment on Gulf Breeze in southeast Houston that belongs to a friend of Balboa’s.
On Monday night, police executed a search warrant at the Gateway at Ellington apartment complex and impounded a black Dodge.
Volunteers with non-profit search group Texas EquuSearch who have joined the search for Samuel scoured a nearby area around the Gulf Freeway and Dixie Farm Road.
‘I’ve worked many, many of these cases. I don’t have a good feeling,’ said Texas EquuSearch founder Tim Miller. ‘Nobody can find out anybody that’s credible that can tell us the last time he was seen and where.’
Dalton Olson is pictured embracing his mother, with his girlfriend standing on the side
Meanwhile, court records uncovered by Click2Houston indicate that Balboa was charged with assault of a family member – impeding breathing in November 2020 after she allegedly choked Dalton Olson.
The man was issued an emergency protective order against Balboa, barring her from having direct contact with the victim or any member of his family.
When asked about the order, Olson said that he and Balboa have reconciled, and that the choking incident had nothing to do with his son, who was not present during that altercation.
Olson further defended Balboa, saying that she has been helping him care for his son while he was at work.
‘I feel like I’m having a bad dream that I can’t wake up from,’ he said.
Police on Monday impounded this Dodge sedan from an apartment complex that is connected with a friend of Balboa’s
Samuel is 3 feet 9 inches tall and weighs 50lbs, with blue eyes and golden brown hair
Samuel is 3 feet 9 inches tall and weighs 50lbs, with blue eyes and golden brown hair with a white patch on the back right side of his head. He is missing two of his bottom teeth.
Samuel was last seen wearing a gray t-shirt with the Kool-Aid man on it, jean shorts, white ‘Buzz Lightyear’ tennis shoes and mismatched superhero socks.
Anyone with information on the boy’s whereabouts is being asked to call Houston Police Patrol at 713-884-3131 or Houston Police Missing Persons Division at 832-394-1840.