The Chameleon: An Imposter in the Family

Nicholas Barclay was born in 1980. grew up in san antonio texas and well right from the start his childhood was hard the kind of heart that shapes a child before they ever get a fair shot there was addiction in the house there was instability money was tight and structure was thin nicholas was also small for his age but he had this big fiery personality people who knew him said that he could be a handful He argued with adults.

He skipped school.

He didn't love rules.

And by his early teens, he had already had a few tattoos and a juvenile record, which tells you something about how fast he was growing up.

But here's the thing.

The same people who said that he was tough to handle also said that he was so lovable, charismatic, the kind of kid who left an impression on you.

Now, here's what happened on the day that everything changed.

It was June of 1994, and Nicholas was 13.

He spent the afternoon playing basketball with his friends at a court not far from home.

It was less than two miles away.

And when he was done, he called the house because he wanted a ride.

Now, his mom, Beverly, worked the overnight shift, and she was asleep.

So it was his older brother, Jason, who picked up the phone.

And Jason told him their mom was sleeping and couldn't come get him.

Well, Nicholas asked if Jason could come instead, and Jason said no.

He told him to walk home.

Now, for a little context, Jason and his sister Carrie were Beverly's older kids from an earlier relationship, so they were quite a bit older than Nicholas.

And Jason had actually moved back into the house to help keep Nicholas in line because Nicholas had gotten to be a lot to handle.

So after being told no, Nicholas hangs up the phone and he starts walking.

And that was the last contact that anyone in his family ever had with him.

He never made it through the front door.

Now, there is a small but important wrinkle here.

You'll see June 13th, 1994 attached to Nicholas's disappearance in most reports.

because that's the date tied to the missing person report.

But there was a delay before he was officially reported missing.