Nicolas resided in Steelton, Pennsylvania with his mother, Simone Santin, in 2005. In December of that year his maternal grandfather, Andres Arguera Santin, asked permission to take the child to visit relatives in El Salvador for Christmas vacation. Simone agreed and Andres left with Nicolas on December 17, traveling in a white 1995 Geo Metro with the Pennsylvania license plate number GCJ-2922. A photograph and vital statistics for Andres are posted below this case summary.

Simone last spoke to her son on December 19. Andres and Nicolas crossed the border from Mexico into Guatemala on December 21. Their family members in El Salvador stated neither of them arrived as scheduled, and immigration records do not record either of the Santins leaving Guatemala under their own names. After Simone didn't hear from her father or her son in some time, she reported them missing.

A felony warrant for international parental kidnapping was issued for Andres on February 8, 2006; investigators believe he abducted his grandson intentionally. Simone and her sister traveled to Guatemala in May 2006 to search for Nicolas and raise awareness of his abduction, but the trip did not produce any leads as to the child's whereabouts.

A native of El Salvador, Andres had lived and worked in the United States illegally for about forty years prior to Nicolas's abduction. He uses numerous alias names and dates of birth, and may attempt to use false identification to create a new identity. Andres has ties to the Bronx and Brooklyn boroughs of New York City and to Mexico. He and Nicolas may be in Mexico, Guatemala or El Salvador. There has been no activity on Andres's bank account or cellular phone since Nicolas's abduction, and his vehicle has not been recovered.

Nicolas's whereabouts are unknown and his case remains unsolved. For unspecified reasons, caution is advised when approaching him or his grandfather.