Texas boy who was kidnapped eight years ago to be reunited with his parents after growing close to them through therapy sessions

PUBLISHED: 14:56 EST, 12 September 2012 | UPDATED: 14:56 EST, 12 September 2012

A Texas boy who was found in March after having been kidnapped eight years ago as an infant has started to get to know his parents through weekly joint therapy sessions with them.

It is hoped that Miguel Morin, eight, will eventually be permanently be reunited with his real parents, attorneys and child welfare officials said today. He will remain in foster care until then.

Authorities allege Miguel was taken as an infant, and his baby sitter and her mother remain jailed on kidnapping charges.

Found: Miguel Morin, left, went missing in 2004 while being babysat by his godmother Krystle Tanner, right

Biological parents: Fernando Morin, center, and Auboni Champion-Morin, right, speak to the media after an emergency court hearing Wednesday to reveal the results of the DNA tests

Biological parents: Fernando Morin, center, and Auboni Champion-Morin, right, speak to the media after an emergency court hearing revealed the results of the DNA tests

William Thursland, a court appointed attorney for Miguel, said the boy has been told who his biological parents are and is trying to get to know them better.

'It's just barely begun so he's cautious,' Thursland said. 'It's going well but it's just going to take time.'

Auboni Champion-Morin and Fernando Morin, Miguel's parents, who live in Houston and are both 29, declined to comment after Wednesday's hearing.

Mark Cooper, Fernando Morin's attorney, said Miguel is being carefully reintroduced to the 'real people in his life'.

'It's going gently and slowly and appropriately and progress is being made and it looks good,' he said.

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Champion-Morin's attorney, Itze Soliz-Matthews, said the joint therapy sessions were going 'very well.'

All attorneys in the case declined to offer more details about the therapy sessions.

The boy has been in foster care since authorities found him in March living in East Texas with Krystle Tanner, who had been Miguel's baby sitter in Houston.

Investigators believe she kidnapped the boy in 2004 when he was just 8 months old and concealed his identity for years.

Tanner and her mother, Gloria Walker, each have been charged with kidnapping and injury to a child.

They have pleaded not guilty and remain jailed in San Augustine, about 140 miles northeast of Houston.

Suspicions: Questions are being asked about whether or not the Morins have their son up or if he was kidnapped from them by his godmother

The Morins are expected to be reunited permanently with their son at the beginning of the year

Estella Olguin, a spokeswoman for Child Protective Services in Houston, said the goal remains to reunite Miguel with his parents.

She said while it was unusual that about five months passed after Miguel was found before he was allowed to meet with his parents, that came at the recommendation of his therapist due in part to the unusual circumstances of the case.

'We wanted to do what was in the best interest of Miguel and make the transition smooth and less traumatic for him,' Olguin said.

Miguel was expected by the end of the month to start meeting, in a therapeutic setting, with his four siblings, who are living with Juanita and Joseph Aguillard, a Houston couple who have been taking care of the Morins' other children under an agreement between the couples.

His siblings 'can't wait to see him,' said Joseph Aguillard.

Olguin said when authorities found Miguel, he had never gone to school, was unable to read or write and functioned at a level below kindergarten.

Now with additional help he has received, including once a week tutoring, he has caught up and is now attending second grade.

'He is doing really remarkably. He's really a great little man,' she said.

CPS spokeswoman: Estella Olguin spoke to the media to confirm that Mr Morin was the biological father of the boy

CPS spokeswoman: Estella Olguin said while it was unusual that five months passed after Miguel was found before he was allowed to meet with his parents, that came at the recommendation of his therapist

The long-dormant case got new life last summer when Tanner took the boy to a hospital for treatment of a leg injury.

When she couldn't provide his name or a Social Security number, hospital staff became concerned and contacted child welfare investigators who eventually were able to link Tanner to the 2004 Houston case.

Tanner was arrested March 12. Her sister, after seeing reports about the arrest, called police the next day and offered to turn over the child she believed was Tanner's stepson.

Gary Cunningham, chief deputy for the San Augustine County Sheriff's Department, said Wednesday the case remained under investigation and that Tanner, who was being held without bond, was not available for interviews with reporters.