Foster child missing from Cape Coral Sports Complex found safe in Immokalee

Jeremias Lopez Domingo, the 9-year-old boy who was reported missing from the Cape Coral Sports Complex Tuesday night, has been found safe.

A threat of deportation to his native Guatemala may have been among the reasons why the foster child disappeared for more than a day.

A spokesman for the Cape Coral police said that Jeremias was found last night in Immokalee with the assistance of the Collier County Sheriff’s Office.  

The recovery of Jeremias was announced in a release sent shortly after 1 a.m. Thursday. No other details were immediately available.

A CCPD report said that electricity went out at the complex around 7:45 p.m. Tuesday at which point Jeremias and another boy asked their soccer coach to use the bathroom. 

When the lights came back on at 8:05 p.m. only one of the boys returned. Jeremias remained absent.

The coach called Jeremias' former and current foster parents and was told by the former parents that they wouldn't be surprised if he ran away because he has just been told, along with his cousins, that they were to be deported to Guatemala, their home country.

Jeremias' cousins were questioned by the current foster parent, the police report said, but they had no idea where he had gone.

Jeremias had no cell phone, the CCPD report said, thus preventing them from pinging his location.

The coach involved Tuesday night, Joshua Ertter, 23, said he was glad Jeremias was safe.

"We are ecstatic that he was found," he said. He declined to answer further questions citing a request for confidentiality from The Children's Network of Southwest Florida, the agency responsible for Jeremias. "We're not allowed to say anything else."

A letter about the missing boy was sent from the Cape Coral Soccer Association  to parents Wednesday.

"... regarding a registered player on a U15 boys CCSA recreational team. During the game, the player asked to use the restroom and was granted permission to do so.  This game was under supervision of four coaches and 3 referees.  This players had his foster parents in attendance at the game."

The letter outlined the association's standard protocol regarding crisis situations.

"The Cape Coral Police Department and Supervisor of the Park and Recreation Department were immediately notified, as well as the President of CCSA. The Cape Coral Police Department instructed the Association’s Director of Soccer Operations that this was not a soccer related matter and was a domestic issue that they will now oversee."

The Children's Network of Southwest Florida declined to provide further information including where he had been or his fostering process.

"We are all relieved," said Nadereh Salim, CEO of the Children's Network of Southwest Florida. "We are limited in the information we can share due to confidentiality."

On Wednesday Salim confirmed that Jeremias is a foster child originally from Colotenango, Guatemala, had no history of running away, was not challenging and was not on medication when he went missing. 

Salim said the boy's disappearance was an "anomaly" since he was not considered a child with problems.