12-Year-Old Pegs Neighbor as Missing Illinois Boy : Custody: A photo in a magazine leads to the arrest of the father. The youngster who identified the 5-year-old had once been abducted by a parent.

Six years ago, Daniel Ilic and his younger brother, David, caught in the middle of a custody battle, were taken by their father from their home and mother in Arizona. The boys were found a year later, abandoned in an apartment in New Jersey.

Last week, Daniel, now a 12-year-old aspiring actor, was instrumental in identifying another missing boy whose photo he recognized in a magazine as that of a neighbor.

With Daniel’s help, police Friday identified the boy as Patrick Gieser, 5, allegedly abducted by his father two years ago in Illinois. The father, Michael Gieser, 47, was arrested and is being held without bail in the Men’s Central Jail in Los Angeles.

“I didn’t think it was him at first until I read the description,” said Daniel, who spotted the photo in a magazine while waiting to audition for a role.

Police arrested Michael Gieser without incident at an apartment building in the 1800 block of Curson Avenue in the Mid-City area, Los Angeles Police Sgt. Dennis Rosenberg said.

A U.S. District Court in Illinois had issued an arrest warrant for Gieser on charges of “interstate flight to avoid prosecution,” Rosenberg said. Gieser apparently left Illinois with his son before he and his former girlfriend had settled a custody dispute over Patrick Gieser, Rosenberg said.

The boy “is in good condition and appears to be well cared for” and is in protective custody, he said. Police have notified his mother in Illinois that he has been found, Rosenberg said.

The episode began Friday afternoon when Daniel recognized Patrick’s photo in a magazine’s section on missing children. He was at a casting director’s Hollywood office to audition for a role in a science fiction movie. After telling his stepfather about the photo, Daniel said he could not concentrate on his audition. “I was really shaken,” he said. “I think I just blew it.”

Daniel’s mother, Gail Ilic, said the magazine photo confirmed suspicions she had had about Michael Gieser. She said Gieser had moved into her apartment complex around Easter, and she thought something was amiss because Patrick was old enough to attend kindergarten but had not been enrolled.

Gail Ilic was critical of the initial police response to the call about Patrick. She said Los Angeles police initially refused to investigate the case, saying they were still on riot alert.

She and her husband, Frank Carubia, also asked the Federal Bureau of Investigation to intervene but were given the same response, she said. She said police responded only after she asked a local television station to look into the story.

But police dispute her account, saying they did not refuse to investigate. “I can say categorically that would not have occurred,” Rosenberg said. An FBI spokeswoman said she could not comment.

Daniel said he does not remember much about his abduction by his father. But he said he understands how it must have felt for Patrick.

“I think I got lucky and Patrick got lucky, too,” he said.

Daniel is expected to receive a $1,000 reward from a national missing children’s foundation. He said he plans to spend part of the money on basketball shoes.