Teacher accused of hiding missing teenage boy for two years

A California teacher has been accused of hiding a teenage boy for two years at her house in Sacramento.

Holga Castillo Olivares, 61, a Sacramento City Unified School District employee, was arrested after it came to light that the boy, named Michael Ramirez, had been staying with her since June 2020. The boy was 15 years old when he suddenly disappeared.

Ramirez reportedly left his house after a heated argument with his parents in May of 2020. He was reported missing a few weeks later, on June 9, 2020. The police and his family continued the search for two years, but to no avail.

He eventually came back to his Rancho Cordova home on his own, saying that he wanted to move back in with his parents. His family claims that he had been staying at Olivares' home all this time. The woman is the mother of one of his friends.

Olivares is employed as an educator at the Alice Birney Waldorf-Inspired K-8 School in Sacramento.

"He ran away. He felt like the grass was greener on the other side," the boy's guardian, Katte Smith, told KCRA. "We felt so robbed of all this time with him. You can't just hide someone's kid and think that's OK," he added.

Olivares was arrested last Thursday. She has been charged with detaining a minor with the intent to conceal from a parent—a felony—and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, according to a statement by the Rancho Cardova Police Department.

The Sacramento City Unified School District has put Olivares on administrative leave as the investigation into the case continues, per a report in the Los Angeles Times.

"The charges filed are for acts unrelated to the employee's assigned duties," the statement read. She was taken into custody at the school after students were dismissed for the day," it added.