NOTE: This article originally published in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Nov. 7, 2012.
A Nevada man who says Mitch Comer is his son has filed a paternity petition to be legally recognized as the teenager's father, according to documents filed in Paulding County Superior Court.
Tony Wawrzynski says his son was 3 years old when his then-girlfriend disappeared with the toddler. Wawrzynski previously told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution he tried unsuccessfully for years to locate his son. Then last month, a detective with the Paulding County Sheriff's Office contacted him with information about the teenager.
Mitch Comer, who is believed to be 18, has told investigators he was locked inside a bathroom and then later a bedroom of a home and given little food for several years. Following his birthday in September, Comer said his stepfather gave him a few hundred dollars and put him on a bus to California, where he was found wandering a Los Angeles bus station on Sept. 11.
The following day, Comer's mother and stepfather, Sheila and Paul Comer, were arrested at their home. The two remain in the Paulding County jail without bond and were indicted by a grand jury on Oct. 22.
Since being returned to Georgia, Mitch Comer has been in the care of a family arranged through the Paulding district attorney's office. Wawrzynski is hopeful he will soon be able to speak with the boy, his attorney, Randy Kessler, said Monday.
"All he wants to do is be in the conversation," Kessler said. "All we're trying to say is, 'Here is another person that loves Mitch.' "
A fundraiser to benefit Mitch Comer is planned for Saturday at Taylor Farm Park in Paulding County.
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