TX TX - Nicholas Barclay, 13, San Antonio, 13 June 1994

[Noirdame79]

Hmm, this makes sense, not just because it was confirmed that CPS was notified by school authorities of Nicholas possibly being an abused child, but it also could explain why Nicholas was small for his age (4'8, 80 pounds). I'm not sure if I believe that his sister knows what happened, but I think his mother found out at some point.


It's interesting that other than Kevin Hendricks, who was interviewed for The Imposter (2012) none of Nicholas's friends have been interviewed, especially considering he was supposedly playing basketball with his friends on the day he went missing. This could be chalked up to shoddy police work, especially since Nicholas had supposedly run away previously, and the fact that he wasn't reported missing for three days. The lack of information is very frustrating, especially given that his disappearance wasn't reported in the news. His friends could give information about Nicholas's personality and his home life, and provide confirmation about many of the things that have been said or reported about him. Hendricks did say that Nicholas and his mother seemed close before Jason moved in, and then the household changed and that Jason's presence may have pushed Beverly (who had battled a heroin addiction most of her adult life) into using drugs. "When this guy [Jason] moved in, he was bum, he was a drug addict, and he only cared about himself."

By the way, Jason had burn scars on his arms, due to an accident that happened when he was 13, involving a cigarette he was smoking and lawnmower fuel. The fact that Jason was smoking at 13 is further proof that Beverly was not a good parent. The burns left him very insecure, and along with predisposition, was probably one of the reasons he turned to drugs. I don't think Nicholas had much of a chance, growing up in a household surrounded by drugs and violence.

 

[Noirdame79]

I still look up this case to see if there's any new info. Sadly, there is nothing as of this writing. Thinking of you, Nicholas. I hope they find you.

 

[iluvmua]

View attachment 525891

I still look up this case to see if there's any new info. Sadly, there is nothing as of this writing. Thinking of you, Nicholas. I hope they find you.

I definitely think that his mother knows what happened to him but since his half brother died of an overdose I don't think we will ever find out what happened.

 

[no greed]

The house on 14111 Swallow Drive, where Nicholas lived with his mother Beverly, and later his brother Jason. This photo was from when the house was for sale in 2009; it is currently occupied.

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Fort Sam Houston. This is where Nicholas was supposedly playing basketball (this was mentioned during a news story when Fredric Bourdin was pretending to be Nicholas, and the female reporter was at one point standing in this area. Did that information come from Beverly or Boudin?).

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If Nicholas did go out to play basketball on the day of his disappearance (which was on June 10; his mother didn't report him missing until the 13th), I'm guessing it was on an outdoor court, probably on school grounds.

I used to live and work in San Antonio. I am confused by the statements that Nicholas was playing basketball at Ft Sam Houston. My mother worked at Ft Sam Houston. She lived within a mile of his home on Swallow Dr. It was about a 30 minute commute by auto between home and work. Why would he be so far from home for basketball? Public transportation between the two areas would be difficult and involve bus transfers. There is a public park and court near his home within walking distance that I used to play at during the 80’s. I am not saying Fort Sam did not have outdoor courts in the 90’s, but the only one I ever played at was a gymnasium. It was open to the public at times. Shaq went to HS at Fort Sam and played pick up ball there occasionally I was told. Just seems very odd he would have been that far from home as a 13 year old. Definitely not close to his hood or school friends. San Antonio did have a lot of gang violence in the early 90’s. The area he lived in was a stable middle class area with a good school district. Even those areas were being impacted by the gangs in 1994. Major reason why we moved away in 1992. I did not want my children of 9 and 7 being exposed to the peer pressure of gangs.

 

[iluvmua]

I used to live and work in San Antonio. I am confused by the statements that Nicholas was playing basketball at Ft Sam Houston. My mother worked at Ft Sam Houston. She lived within a mile of his home on Swallow Dr. It was about a 30 minute commute by auto between home and work. Why would he be so far from home for basketball? Public transportation between the two areas would be difficult and involve bus transfers. There is a public park and court near his home within walking distance that I used to play at during the 80’s. I am not saying Fort Sam did not have outdoor courts in the 90’s, but the only one I ever played at was a gymnasium. It was open to the public at times. Shaq went to HS at Fort Sam and played pick up ball there occasionally I was told. Just seems very odd he would have been that far from home as a 13 year old. Definitely not close to his hood or school friends. San Antonio did have a lot of gang violence in the early 90’s. The area he lived in was a stable middle class area with a good school district. Even those areas were being impacted by the gangs in 1994. Major reason why we moved away in 1992. I did not want my children of 9 and 7 being exposed to the peer pressure of gangs.

Is Fort Sam Houston a neighborhood or a park?

 

[no greed]

Is Fort Sam Houston a neighborhood or a park?

It is an army military base. My mother worked in a department that processed soldiers exiting the military service. A non military; civil service position. It is home to Brooks Army Hospital. The leading burn treatment center in the US military I have read. Not a highly populated or large facility. Not a place where you would expect very many teenagers. Several 20 & 30 something’s I expect. A lot of officers in the medical field associated with the hospital.

 

[Noirdame79]

I used to live and work in San Antonio. I am confused by the statements that Nicholas was playing basketball at Ft Sam Houston. My mother worked at Ft Sam Houston. She lived within a mile of his home on Swallow Dr. It was about a 30 minute commute by auto between home and work. Why would he be so far from home for basketball? Public transportation between the two areas would be difficult and involve bus transfers. There is a public park and court near his home within walking distance that I used to play at during the 80’s. I am not saying Fort Sam did not have outdoor courts in the 90’s, but the only one I ever played at was a gymnasium. It was open to the public at times. Shaq went to HS at Fort Sam and played pick up ball there occasionally I was told. Just seems very odd he would have been that far from home as a 13 year old. Definitely not close to his hood or school friends. San Antonio did have a lot of gang violence in the early 90’s. The area he lived in was a stable middle class area with a good school district. Even those areas were being impacted by the gangs in 1994. Major reason why we moved away in 1992. I did not want my children of 9 and 7 being exposed to the peer pressure of gangs.

Thank you for this information. As someone who is not a local let alone American, I appreciate it. When I was researching this, I found it strange that it was mentioned that Fort Sam Houston was where Nicholas was allegedly playing basketball the day he went missing, since it's so far away from his house and there's no mention of him taking transit or getting a ride. I don't know where this came from - if it was something Frederic Bourdin made up when he was impersonating Nicholas or if this was something that was mentioned or told to him by Nicholas's family members. There is no actual evidence that he was playing basketball that day. Beverly said she gave him 5 dollars and told him to be home by dinner. It makes much more sense for him to have gone to the outdoor court in his neighborhood. If he did go to the local park to play basketball, there is a potential problem with the story. If it was within walking distance of his house, why would he call home for a ride (and where would he have called from)? I supposed he could have wanted a ride home if he was very tired, but still. However, since this "story" came from his brother Jason, whom many, including myself, believe was involved in his disappearance (Beverly was allegedly asleep at the time, as she worked the night shift), I think it should be looked at with skepticism. The whole thing is sketchy.

I believe that 1) Nicholas was not playing basketball that day, or 2) if he did, he either came home, or Jason picked him up, and something happened from there. I also believe that Nicholas's "bad behavior" is somewhat exaggerated. I have no problem believing that he acted out, given the environment he was living in, but his family makes it seem as if he acted out for no reason (another major issue I have with this case). Speaking negatively of a missing child, in my opinion, is always a red flag.

Gang violence, which I don't personally think played a part in his disappearance, is an important thing to mention. Also, given the fact that his mother and brother were drug addicts (heroin and cocaine respectively), it does make me wonder if Jason was selling drugs on top of using, so there might be a connection there too. Maybe he had help disposing of Nicholas. We may never know, but I hope that some of the truth will come to light.

 

[spartanx]

How can anyone be so stupid as to believe that someone's eye colour can permanently change from blue to brown?..
Cases like this without the scammer pretending to be the missing child, of course, also occur in the UK... decades ago, two bad children disappeared around Christmas or New Year's in a poor area and few people cared...
Now it turns out that a known child killer was active in the area at the time, but as far as I know, it has never been proven that Brian Lunn Field was responsible for the disappearance of Patrick Warren and David Spencer...
Maybe if the police had done their job properly in the mid-90s they would have...
There is always the question of whether the brother made it all up and killed him... maybe in an accident or he just wanted him out of the house forever...
whatever the case
Rest in peace

 

[Hitchcock3000]

The more I think abt it, the more skeptical I get about believing that Nicholas was  actually playing basketball with his friends. Think about it. Like, he phones home to get picked up, his brother Jason says mom can't pick him up as she's asleep so walk.

My biggest question is: why didn't Jason pick him up? Jason was 24 at the time, old enough to drive if the distance was far, which seemed so since Nicholas asked for the mother specifically. How did Nicholas arrive to the park? It's not specified. Did someone drive him? If so, it couldn't be the mother as she sleeps during the day. Did Jason drive him? If so, why not pick Nicholas up when he asked? Maybe Nicholas walked to the park. Why didn't he walk back as it was still daytime and was able to walk the distance in the first place?

Second question: Has  any of Nicholas's friends actually confirmed playing or seeing him that day? It's not stated anywhere in articles or interviews that I could find. When he went missing, didn't the police question his friends? Isn't that the normal procedure, to question every single person that was last seen with the missing person? Confirm he was actually with his friends and at the park? Establish a timeline? Hello? I know the police were sorta sloppy handling this case at the start but they still could of found and interviewed the "friends" Nicholas was supposedly playing with when they took the case seriously. Considering it doesn't seem to be confirmed anywhere (as far as i know) who Nicholas was playing basketball with, maybe he wasn't actually even at the park at all that day.

These two points never seem to get brought up enough or even at all.

Another thing is how during the interviews in The Imposter (2012), it was almost completely devoid of any emotional connection with Nicholas. Anytime Nicholas's traits were talked about it's always negative, and he was just a 'bad boy'. Never mentioned any good quality he might of had, or reminisce abt any fond memories of Nicholas, heck not even if he had any hobbies. Does anyone love this kid???
In The Imposter (2012), Carrie, Nicholas's half sister, states that "he was not this perfect, nice, sweet, innocent (boy)". Yet in the home footage Nicholas was filming, he was calling Carrie beautiful, the birthday girl and such, " ain't she lucky? Ain't she beautiful?", and "that's my sister." Which IMO sounded kind of proud. Another home footage showed Nicholas entering the house, when he notices the camera and cheekily says "what are you looking at?" Before laughing.

Sure he was a troubled kid with challenging behaviour but in these home videos he came across as bubbly, playful, sweet, loving and mischievous. In my opinion. Poor kid.

The imposter (2012): Charlie Parker ( I think that's his name?) the private investigator, got permission from the new owner, to dig the backyard of the house Nicholas once lived in before he went missing. The dog's owner noticed how the dog would dig at a specific spot at the back. They found nothing but a piece of tarp. (Aren't murdered victims sometimes wrapped up?) I think Nicholas was most likely buried there at some point, most likely at the time of his death (assuming he is), and then moved.

Poor kid, I feel so terrible for him. No one seemed to care much for him and certainly no one cares about him now in favour of Frédéric Bourdin.

 

[Noirdame79]

The more I think abt it, the more skeptical I get about believing that Nicholas was  actually playing basketball with his friends. Think about it. Like, he phones home to get picked up, his brother Jason says mom can't pick him up as she's asleep so walk.

My biggest question is: why didn't Jason pick him up? Jason was 24 at the time, old enough to drive if the distance was far, which seemed so since Nicholas asked for the mother specifically. How did Nicholas arrive to the park? It's not specified. Did someone drive him? If so, it couldn't be the mother as she sleeps during the day. Did Jason drive him? If so, why not pick Nicholas up when he asked? Maybe Nicholas walked to the park. Why didn't he walk back as it was still daytime and was able to walk the distance in the first place?

Second question: Has  any of Nicholas's friends actually confirmed playing or seeing him that day? It's not stated anywhere in articles or interviews that I could find. When he went missing, didn't the police question his friends? Isn't that the normal procedure, to question every single person that was last seen with the missing person? Confirm he was actually with his friends and at the park? Establish a timeline? Hello? I know the police were sorta sloppy handling this case at the start but they still could of found and interviewed the "friends" Nicholas was supposedly playing with when they took the case seriously. Considering it doesn't seem to be confirmed anywhere (as far as i know) who Nicholas was playing basketball with, maybe he wasn't actually even at the park at all that day.

These two points never seem to get brought up enough or even at all.

Another thing is how during the interviews in The Imposter (2012), it was almost completely devoid of any emotional connection with Nicholas. Anytime Nicholas's traits were talked about it's always negative, and he was just a 'bad boy'. Never mentioned any good quality he might of had, or reminisce abt any fond memories of Nicholas, heck not even if he had any hobbies. Does anyone love this kid???
In The Imposter (2012), Carrie, Nicholas's half sister, states that "he was not this perfect, nice, sweet, innocent (boy)". Yet in the home footage Nicholas was filming, he was calling Carrie beautiful, the birthday girl and such, " ain't she lucky? Ain't she beautiful?", and "that's my sister." Which IMO sounded kind of proud. Another home footage showed Nicholas entering the house, when he notices the camera and cheekily says "what are you looking at?" Before laughing.

Sure he was a troubled kid with challenging behaviour but in these home videos he came across as bubbly, playful, sweet, loving and mischievous. In my opinion. Poor kid.

The imposter (2012): Charlie Parker ( I think that's his name?) the private investigator, got permission from the new owner, to dig the backyard of the house Nicholas once lived in before he went missing. The dog's owner noticed how the dog would dig at a specific spot at the back. They found nothing but a piece of tarp. (Aren't murdered victims sometimes wrapped up?) I think Nicholas was most likely buried there at some point, most likely at the time of his death (assuming he is), and then moved.

Poor kid, I feel so terrible for him. No one seemed to care much for him and certainly no one cares about him now in favour of Frédéric Bourdin.

These are excellent questions, many of which I've pondered myself. Literally, the only positive thing stated about Nicholas in the documentary is when his mother said, "He had beautiful blond hair. He kind of looked like a little pixie." That's the one positive thing you have to say about your missing child? His sister makes this big deal about how the family was the only people who were looking for Nicholas, at least early on, until the police became involved some weeks later, yet they don't have anything positive to say about him. His mother was addicted to heroin and his brother Jason was a cocaine addict who also supposedly drank heavily. Obviously, positive role models were something that Nicholas didn't have. He seems to be the scapegoat while his violent older brother gets the "he had his demons, he was just misunderstood". The fact that the family is more concerned with defending Jason and themselves says so much.

I also think that Nicholas's body was in the backyard at some point and was moved later. Beverly (his mother) may not have been directly involved but I do think she knows and suspects more than she's telling.