Police say Steven Cross, 60, left home in July without telling his son, who awoke to find him gone.
The father allegedly left a letter telling his son the home was being foreclosed, and that he should take his PlayStation and go to a neighbor's house.
Investigators got a tip he was working in Cambria, where sheriff's deputies arrested him on Monday. Cross was reportedly living in his van.
The boy is now living with an aunt.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
