Aubrey Ferguson, 31, of Richland, was sentenced Wednesday for child abduction, having pleaded guilty to the charge back in November

A Missouri woman who kept her six-year-old son hidden in a nailed-shut attic during a custody dispute with the boy's father has been sentenced to five years probation, court documents show.

Aubrey Ferguson, 31, of Richland, was sentenced Wednesday for child abduction, having pleaded guilty to the charge back in November.

Her son, Braedence Jones, was reported missing by his father Ryan, who had custody of the boy, in August 2018.

Ryan Jones told prosecutors how he had gone to pick up his son from Ferguson's home near Camdenton, in LaClede County, on August 3 after a week-long visit but arrived to find nobody was home. The house next door where Ferguson's parents live was also empty.

Ferguson sent him text messages telling him Braedence was safe but refused to reveal where they were staying.

Law enforcement agencies responded to numerous sightings but attempts to locate the child and his mother were unsuccessful.

Braedence Jones (left) was reported missing by his father Ryan, who had custody of the boy, in August 2018. Ryan Jones told prosecutors how he had gone to pick up his son from Ferguson's home near Camdenton, in LaClede County, on August 3 after a week-long visit but arrived to find nobody was home (pictured at their reunion in January 2019)

Surveillance footage and pings from Ferguson's phone indicated that she was with her boyfriend Woodrow Ziegler, 41, a convicted felon and drug user who was court-ordered to stay away from Braedence.

Police say the pair were moving around the area in order to evade capture.

An arrest warrant was put out for Ferguson in November 2018, nearly three months after the boy was first reported missing.

Ziegler's involvement in the case prompted the Missouri State Highway Patrol to issue an endangered person advisory for the boy

An agonizing five months would pass before US Marshals eventually found little Braedence on January 8, 2019.

The then six-year-old was discovered in an attic crawl space, along with his mother, at a residence in rural LaClede County where Ferguson and Ziegler had been living together.

Ziegler had had nailed the entrance of the crawl space shut, covered it with carpet and pushed furniture against it before officers arrived with a search warrant after receiving a tip to boy was inside.

An arrest warrant was put out for Ferguson in November 2018, nearly three months after the boy was first reported missing

Surveillance footage and pings from Ferguson's phone indicated that she was with her boyfriend Woodrow Ziegler, 41, a convicted felon and drug user who was court-ordered to stay away from Braedence

Ferguson, 30, was charged with felony child abduction. As part of her sentencing, she had been ordered to have no contact with Braedence until the end of her probation period and ordered to bay undisclosed damages to Ryan Jones after he lost his job during Braedence's disappearance.

Prosecutors, meanwhile, charged Ziegler with hindering the prosecution of a felony, which is still pending.

The boy was reunited with Ryan Jones shortly after their arrest. The relieved father's girlfriend, Breanne Marie Dominguez, posted a series of Facebook updates documenting their emotional reunion.

'OUR LITTLE BOY IS HOME. GOD IS SOOOO GOOD!!!! Thank you all for the prayers, shared, phone calls and etc. we don't know how to thank everyone enough. Our hearts are so full of joy atm. Just thank you everyone,' one post read at the time.

'He seems to be physically OK. But since his abduction, the mother hasn't allowed him to go to school and more than likely has not taken him to a doctor if he needed one. We are hoping to help his father find counseling for him.'

The then six-year-old was discovered in an attic crawl space, along with his mother, at a residence in rural LaClede County where Ferguson and Ziegler had been living together (pictured left with his father and girlfriend Breanne Marie Dominguez)

In an updated post on January 8, Breanne (left) said: 'We knew walking in today she could be looking at a 5 year sentence of probation. Did we hope for jail time, yes. [But] The judge made his decision. 'We understand this maybe upsetting. It’s very upsetting to us...[but] At the end of the day we have our baby. She can’t hurt him anymore. Braedence is a very happy, healthy, child'

In an updated post on January 8, Breanne took the time to thank the Camden County Sheriff's Office and LaClede County prosecutors for 'fighting so hard for our baby'.

'You all will always hold a special place in our hearts and we will forever be thankful,' she wrote on Facebook, before expressing disappointment at Ferguson's sentence.

'We knew walking in today she could be looking at a 5 year sentence of probation. Did we hope for jail time, yes. [But] The judge made his decision.

'We understand this maybe upsetting. It’s very upsetting to us...[but] At the end of the day we have our baby. She can’t hurt him anymore. Braedence is a very happy, healthy, child.'