The mother he long thought was dead says she wants to be part of Sebastian Cross' future.
Abandoned by his father, now under arrest in California, the 11-year-old Lakeville boy remains in the care of an aunt. Court and child-protection workers will ultimately decide where he lives.
Katik Porter, who hasn't seen her son for nearly a decade, called Dakota County officials Wednesday to say she wanted to be part of those discussions. She's now working with child-protection officials and could request custody of Sebastian, said Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom.
Also on Wednesday, Steven A. Cross appeared in San Luis Obispo Superior Court, where he waived extradition, clearing the way for his return to Minnesota to face child-neglect charges.
In a jailhouse interview with California TV station KSBY on Tuesday night, Cross said he'll fight the charges.
"I was doing the best I thought I could do for my son," Cross said. "It was tough being a single dad. ... I didn't want him to remember his dad as homeless."
Cross, 60, disappeared July 18, leaving Sebastian a pair of letters that told him to move in with neighbors and revealing that he had lied to the boy about his mother, telling him she'd died of cancer.
"Some good news is your mother is still alive," Cross wrote. "Though I do not think it is for the best."