LONGMONT, Colo. -- It was supposed to be a relaxing family vacation in Mexico until the parents of a Longmont Middle School student were told that their son was on a secret government no-fly list.

The no-fly list is supposed to include the names of suspected terrorists and felons, so his parents were shocked to learn that their son was on this list.

His parents wanted to know why a 13-year-old boy who has no criminal record is being continually stopped at the airport, and why, after nearly a year, hadn't the Transportation Security Administration cleared him?

The Mitchell family learned all this when they were taking a red-eye flight to Cancun. They arrived at the Frontier ticket counter at Denver International Airport and were stunned when told their 13-year-old son couldn't get on the plane.

"We were told that Stephen was on the no-fly list. We sort of didn't understand why a 13-year-old would be on the no-fly list," Donna Mitchell, Stephen's mother, said. "And I ask her, 'What do we do?' She said, 'Well, I've got to call Washington and clear him as well as I have to clear all of you because you were on the travel record with him.'"

After an hour, Stephen was finally allowed on the aircraft. The Mitchells assumed the mistake had been corrected. But then when they went to the airport in Cancun, they were told their son could not get a boarding pass.

"They take all of our passports and disappear ... Finally they came back. They had called Washington and cleared us all again and we were able to get on the plane," Donna said.

Stephen, now a 14-year-old middle school student in Longmont, is apparently considered a potential threat by the TSA. Sources familiar with the secret watch list confirm it includes Stephen's name and date of birth.

But now, Stephen is supposed to take a school trip in March.

"I'm pretty sure I can get there, but my parents aren't going to be there to clear me on the way back. So, unless I get off this list, I am not sure I am going to be able to go," Stephen said.

He said his friends would not characterize him as a terrorist.

"They were wondering why I was on the list. They thought I was a terrorist at first because they were like, 'What did you do? What did you do?' But then I was like, 'It wasn't me,'" Stephen said.

Stephen has been stopped on every trip for the last year. Each time he is told he is on the list that contains the names of suspected terrorists and felons. The most recent incident occurred last month.

"We have asked why but no one is quite sure. It might be someone with my name that's a terrorist or somebody just put me on it," Stephen said.

For almost a year Donna has been writing and calling the TSA, filling out and sending in information with all her son's credentials.

"We sent the letter registered mail with confirmation to the TSA. We got confirmation back that they had received it. That was at the end of March 2005," Donna said.

She said she got nothing back. She has contacted TSA twice since then.

"Never heard anything," she said.

Being under government scrutiny has raised questions for Stephen and his family about TSA's competence.

"If I wasn't on the list, I wouldn't understand what big importance there is to it. Now, I realize that it is a big deal," Stephen said.

"Your name is on the list and there is no recourse for you as a citizen," Donna said. "If his name is on one list then it could be on other lists I don't even know exist. It is sort of scary. I feel there is no accountability from the government."

Officials from the TSA contacted 7NEWS Investigators late Thursday and claimed Stephen Mitchell wasn't actually on a no-fly list or a watch list.

In a statement, the TSA said the family "should have been notified within several weeks that (Stephen) had a name similar to one on a TSA watch list. Due to an administrative error, that did not happen. We issued and mailed a clearance letter to Stephen Mitchell and his parents this week. They will also receive a letter of apology for our very delayed response."

But a TSA spokesman warned that after all this Stephen should still carry the clearance letter with him when he goes to the airport because even now, he could be stopped and asked for additional information.