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Mother Pleads For Help Finding Missing 5-Year-Old Boy

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — A mother made a tearful plea Wednesday for help finding her 5-year-old son, who has been missing for more than a month.

Ana Estevez said it had been 32 days and almost three hours since she kissed, hugged or told her son, Aramazd Andressian Jr., that she loved him.

"My son's disappearance is my worst nightmare," Estevez said.

A reward for information that would help locate the South Pasadena boy was doubled to $20,000 by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.

"Be brave," Estevez said to her son in the hopes that the boy would see her message. "Mama and a lot of people are working hard to bring you home."

A frantic search for the boy began when his father, Aramazd Andressian Sr., was found unconscious at South Pasadena's Arroyo Seco Park. He could not tell authorities where his son was, which kicked off a search that has spanned several Southern California counties.

Andressian was arrested on April 22 and released from jail three days later. A search warrant was served at his South Pasadena home on April 28.

In a statement released by his attorney, Andressian said, "I can only speculate that I must have been attacked in the park, given my unresponsive state and subsequent physical condition."

Detectives confirmed Wednesday that Andressian had taken prescription drugs the night he was found passed out – drugs that did not belong to him.

They also said there was evidence of what is believed to be gasoline poured inside the car, where matches were also found – but police say there is no evidence to suggest Andressian was about to set the car on fire.

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