A five-year-old boy who went missing from his home has been found safe and unharmed 13 years later.

Julian Hernandez, 18, was found in Cleveland, Ohio, police said. His mother reported him missing from the Birmingham, Alabama, area in 2002.

His father Bobby Hernandez, 53, was arrested in Ohio.

He has been charged with tampering with records in Ohio to get a driver's licence and will face abduction charges in Alabama, according to reports.

Special agent Vicki Anderson said the FBI in Ohio received information on October 30 that a local teenager may be a missing child.

The boy and his father have apparently been living in Cleveland, she said.

Authorities say Julian Hernandez is safe and unharmed.

His mother was said to be happy "but also somewhat hesitant because there had been so many false leads through the years".

Lieutenant Kevin York, of the Vestavia Hills Police Department, said the woman still lives in the Birmingham area but has asked police not to release her name or address and has requested privacy.