Family of missing Arlington man meets with Snohomish County Sheriff's Office
WA 21-year-old with autism missing for 30 days
The family of a missing 21-year-old man with autism is still fighting to find him on the 30th day of his disappearance.
ARLINGTON, Wash. - The family of a missing 21-year-old man with autism is still fighting to find him on the 30th day of his disappearance.
Jonathan Hoang of Arlington went missing on March 30.
The family says they were able to meet with the sheriff's office on April 28 to talk over concerns, but are still worried about long-term data preservation since the case hasn't been escalated from a "missing person's case" to a "criminal case."
What they're saying:
"It’s unbearably painful because we are unable to help him," said Thao Hoang, Jonathan’s father and court-appointed guardian.
Thao and his son Jonathan, pictured below as a child, have always been close. Since his disappearance he's feared the worst.
"He’s scared he doesn’t have his medication," said Thao.
Loved ones created an online petition April 26th to call for the sheriff's office to elevate the case from a missing person case to a criminal case and to form an Interagency task force.
The petition reads;
"Jonathan's disappearance must be treated as what it is: a crime. Every minute counts, and the mishandling of his case only increases the danger he faces. We, the undersigned, demand immediate changes:
- SCSO must treat Jonathan Hoang’s disappearance as a criminal investigation and possible kidnapping
- We call for the immediate formation of an interagency task force—including the Washington State Patrol and FBI—to bring all available resources to bear. If SCSO cannot or will not do this, they must step aside and allow agencies with the capacity to act swiftly and thoroughly to take over jurisdiction
Jonathan’s life is at stake. His family, friends, and community deserve answers—and most importantly, they deserve action.
Please sign and share this petition to demand the urgency, resources, and accountability that Jonathan and his family deserve."
"We were just desperate and didn’t know what to do," said Thao.
Monday, Thao said they were able to get a meeting with the sheriff.
"I’m very thankful we were able to secure Sheriff Jonson’s attention," said Thao. "Up until yesterday we didn’t really felt being heard."
Last week, Thao says he was also able to get a designation as Jonathan's guardian through the Snohomish County Court. He says that has helped him to gather his son's medical history.
"So we have the whole history of his medical records in terms of his disability that was not available to us previously. The other one is we can now advocate on his behalf," said Thao.
A previous rally in support of Jonathan is posted below.
He also hopes it will help him gather more of Jonathan's digital data with the help of his own legal counsel.
"There is a digital footprint of him somewhere and that hasn’t been thoroughly investigated," said Thao.
FOX 13 reached out to the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office about the digital investigation.
Spokesperson and Director of Communications Courtney O'Keefe directed us to an online statement, which answered some of the questions below.
"Jonathan’s iPad does not have cellular data, which means it cannot be "pinged" or tracked in real-time like a cell phone with an active connection.
Detectives worked with Apple, Google and Microsoft to review any activity on Jonathan’s accounts since the date he went missing. Detectives received cooperation from all three companies and determined there has been no activity by Jonathan on his Apple, Google or Microsoft accounts since he went missing. Additionally, Apple is unable to locate the iPad using Apple’s "Find My" app.
Sheriff’s Office Digital Forensics Unit detectives conducted a thorough digital analysis of Jonathan’s cell phone and computer that were left behind at his residence. Nothing of evidentiary value was found on these devices."
The Autism Foundation also issued a statement as a rebuttal to the statement from the sheriff's office.
It reads in part;
"SCSO Claim: The iPad could not be tracked due to lack of cellular data.
Clarification:
While technically accurate, the response is incomplete. Even without cellular data, iPads can ping Wi-Fi networks. Logs of connected routers, MAC addresses, and geolocation history can often be accessed or cross-referenced by Apple or internet service providers.
There’s no evidence this was pursued or shared. No forensic report has been provided, and no clear explanation has been given as to what steps were taken."
Thao says the family is now pushing for investigators to make a formal request called "letters of preservation" that they believe would save electronic data from being wiped in the future. He says that if his son remains missing, it might be needed.
"It’s an active investigation. It could very well be done already, but we don’t know that for a fact," said Thao.
Until then, Thao says he'll keep fighting for his son and searching for him.
"We know he’s asking for help and we cannot help him. So, it’s really, really hard," said Thao.
A few weeks ago, the family also said they were concerned that investigators were not connecting with a private investigator that they had hired. On April 18th, the sheriff's office posted a statement about that, saying:
"Has the Sheriff’s Office been in communication with the Private Investigator hired by the family?
"Yes, the Sheriff’s Office has accepted information from the PI via a thumb drive, email, shared links, and met with him in person. While law enforcement does not involve private persons as part of our investigations, we will continue to consider all information provided to us by the PI, as we will any information from any source. "
"The sheriff's office also answered other questions online about the investigation as part of a longer statement dated on April 18th."
The Source: Information in this story came from the family of Jonathan Hoang, the Autism Foundation, the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office and FOX 13 Seattle reporting.
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