Chapter 128: A Stranger Came Home-The Disappearance of Nicholas Barclay

In 1994, 13-year-old Nicholas Barclay vanished from San Antonio, Texas, never to be seen again. Three years later, a young man claiming to be Nicholas resurfaced in Spain, but something wasn’t right. His accent was wrong. His appearance had changed. And the truth was far more disturbing than anyone imagined.

3 years after I last covered it, I'm revisiting one of the most baffling missing persons cases I have ever come across, with a conman whose lies buried the mystery of what happened to a young teenager even further into obscurity.

If you have any information on the disappearance of Nicholas Barclay, please contact the San Antonio Police at 210-207-7484

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Annett, J. (2025, September 6). Boy lived with parents for five months before they realised he wasn’t their son. Daily Mirror. https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/boy-lived-parents-five-months-35860585Davis, N. (1998, November 7). The boy who came back from the dead. Sydney Morning Herald, 4S-5S.Dec 13, 1998, page 54 - San Antonio Express-News at Newspapers.comTM. (n.d.). Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1280925736/?match=1&terms=%22nicholas%20barclay%22Grann, D. (2008, August 4). The Chameleon. The New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/08/11/the-chameleon-annals-of-crime-david-grannHave you seen this child? Nicholas Patrick Barclay. (n.d.). https://www.missingkids.org/poster/NCMC/802112/1Hernandez, E. (2019, May 2). Case of missing San Antonio boy from 1994 remains a mystery. KSAT. https://www.ksat.com/news/2019/05/02/case-of-missing-san-antonio-boy-from-1994-remains-a-mystery/Nicholas Patrick Barclay – The Charley Project. (n.d.). https://charleyproject.org/case/nicholas-patrick-barclaySamuel, H. (2005, June 13). “Chameleon” caught pretending to be boy. The Telegraph. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/1491956/Chameleon-caught-pretending-to-be-boy.html?ICID=continue_without_subscribing_reg_firstSerena, K. (2025, September 26). The mystery of Nicholas Barclay and his imposter, Frédéric Bourdin. All That’s Interesting. https://allthatsinteresting.com/nicholas-barclay-frederic-bourdinThe mysterious disappearance of Nicholas Barclay. (n.d.). Criminal. https://vocal.media/criminal/the-mysterious-disappearance-of-nicholas-barclaywww.lostnfoundblogs.com. (n.d.). Nicholas Barclay: A cruel con. https://lostnfoundblogs.com/f/nicholas-barclay-a-cruel-con



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