After the news broke on Friday that Kenny DeLand Jr., had been found safe family shared their excitement and thanked all of those involved.
They received a call during the morning hours on December 16th, according to family. He was in Spain and Kenny’s mother Carol was in France, preparing to see him.
“We want to thank all the Media members for their diligence and swift attention in spreading the word about our Son. Without the media’s help, Kenny would not have seen himself in the news and reached out to us,” the DeLand family continued in a statement after the good news was shared with the world.
DeLand’s case had drawn attention from around the world.
“We also want to thank St. John Fisher College, the American Institute for Foreign Study (AIFS), French Administrations, The Federal Bureau of Investigation, especially the Rochester and Buffalo branches, Congress Woman Claudia Tenney, and Senator Pamela Helming. We also want to extend our love and appreciation to our fantastic community for rallying together. Without everyone’s help, we wouldn’t have our Son, hopefully, home Christmas,” they continued.
DeLand’s father was on a call with CNN early-Friday when he abruptly ended the call. Later, he reported back to CNN that he had made contact with his son.
Now though, the family simply wants some time alone.
“We love and appreciate every single person that had a hand in bringing our Son home. At this time, we ask everyone to respect our privacy as we need time and space to reunite with our Son and for Kenny to decompress,” the family’s statement concluded.
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