Mother of missing boy asks South Pasadena City Council for help in finding 5-year-old

SOUTH PASADENA, Calif. (FOX 11) - Grieving mother Ana Estevez asked the South Pasadena City Council on Wednesday to do more to help find her missing son.

Estevez is hoping the city council will help boost or match the current reward of $20,000 in the disappearance of Ara Andressian, Jr.

The 5-year-old was reported missing on April 22 while in the care of his father, Ara Andressian, Sr. He was found passed out in Arroyo Seco Park with his vehicle parked nearby, doused in gasoline.

His son, however, was nowhere to be found.

After the council meeting Wednesday night, Estevez spoke to the media with a tearful message for her son.

"You're my angel and I miss you and I think about you all the time and I can't wait until you're home again," said Estevez.

The boy's father is no longer cooperating with authorities, and Estevez said he has not reached out to her either. She believes he knows where their son is.

"He holds the key to where my son is, and he's the only one who has that information, so I wish he would come for ward and be truthful and stop hurting my son," she said.

Estevez has also reached out to INTERPOL, an international law enforcement agency that helps to find missing children.

"I believe he's alive. I believe there may have been an exchange and someone is helping his dad," she said.

While she and her family struggle to cope with the unknowns, Estevez is not giving up hope that she and her son will soon be reunited.

"I visualize getting a call from the sheriff's department and them telling me that they found my son. I visualize him running toward me and hugging me and saying, 'Mama, I love you,'" a tearful Estevez said.

The LA County Sheriff's Department is offering a $20,000 reward for information, and Estevez is hoping the South Pasadena City Council can offer up more money or match that.

She also wants to put up more flyers around the city and help get the word out. The council agreed to consider Estevez's request.

Anyone with information about her son's whereabouts is urged to contact the LA County Sheriff's Department.

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