Jonathan Hoang’s neighbors and family members are questioning the thoroughness of the investigation by the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office.
ARLINGTON, Wash. — Jonathan Hoang, a 21-year-old Arlington man with autism, is still missing.
In an interview with his sister, Irene Hoang Pfister, KING 5 asked her if she ever lets her mind wander to the worst.
“Yeah, all the time. I’m getting anywhere from like two to four hours of sleep a night because I’m constantly working at trying to get someone to do something,” she replied.
Her brother disappeared from their parents’ home in Arlington more than two weeks ago. His mother told Snohomish County Sheriff’s deputies that he wasn’t in his room on the morning of March 31 when she went to check on him.
His sister said, “He did not take his phone. He did not take his jacket, he did not take any money or his wallet. He took nothing with him except his iPad, and we presume a pair of my mom’s shoes on the back deck. That’s so unlike him,.”
She said Hoang has a the cognitive abilities of a pre-teen, and a childlike innocence that is vulnerable to influences.
“If he was like in peril, or didn’t know what to do, he likely would would not advocate for himself. He would probably sit and, like, hunch,” she said.
The search
Courtney O’Keefe, the communications director with the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office, told KING 5 that Hoang’s cellphone and computer were analyzed by Sheriff’s Office Digital Forensics Unit detectives and “nothing of evidentiary value was found.”
Hoang’s sister believes someone lured her younger brother into a car. She said the family made it clear to the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office that it was their suspicion, on the first day he was missing.
“That’s the only thing that makes sense,” she said. “And they just wouldn’t listen. They just kept searching the woods.”
After an exhaustive search of the woods near Jonathan’s home early this month yielded no results, Hoang’s case was moved to the Major Crimes Unit at Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office.
“They focused their efforts so much on the assumption that he was lost in the woods,” his sister said.
At the conclusion of the April 5 search in the wooded area behind his home, the Search and Rescue team was told to stand down. Deputies announced the search was “suspended.”
The rally
Hoang’s neighbors rallied in Arlington on Saturday, calling on the sheriff’s office to do more. Multiple neighbors told KING 5 they have not heard from an investigator in the days since the search and rescue effort was suspended.
“As neighbors we’re not really satisfied with what’s happening,” said Jerry Grisham, who lives nearby. “We’ve not heard anything from the sheriff’s office in terms of interviews, or anybody else. I’m not even sure a neighbor’s been actually talked to.”
The family’s investigation
With the help of the community on a crowdfunding platform, the family was able to hire a private investigator. Hoang Pfister said he has proven helpful.
“He’s found actionable, tangible leads that could be investigated,” said Hoang Pfister.
Based on information obtained by their private investigator, the family has their suspicions of who might be involved in this.
However, because investigators don’t have the authority to obtain a warrant, their hands are tied. Only law enforcement officials can obtain warrants.
But O’Keefe said, “There’s no people of interest at this time. There’s no criminal activity or foul play suspected at this time. And in order for us to get a warrant for anything, we would have to have probable cause that a crime had been committed.”
This is a point of frustration for the family.
“They could be questioning certain people, they could be getting warrants, they could be processing evidence. And they have not. They have not done any of those things,” said Hoang Pfister.
O’Keefe told KING 5 Monday that the lead detective is actively reviewing footage that the family collected.
“On Thursday, the family provided a thumb drive to the detective with a substantial amount of surveillance that they went and collected,” said O’Keefe.
Hoang Pfister confirmed that to be true, adding, “We spent hours going door to door-to-door, asking, begging people, please give us any surveillance footage you have during this window.”
The family just learned they’d be getting assistance, pro bono, from an independent criminal profiler who has contacts at the state and federal level. Hoang Pfister said she is hoping Snohomish County deputies will accept any offers of help she can arrange from other agencies.
The iPad
Hoang’s iPad could be key to finding his location. But the lead detective, Detective Curt Carlson with the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office, told the family Sunday, “Apple will not provide any further information as they are no longer viewing the case as exigent under their guidelines.”
For added context, exigent is another word for “urgent,” or “dire.”
Hoang Pfister said she asked the detective for a copy of the request with Apple, but had not gotten a response as of early Monday evening. The family, therefore, has no oversight over the ways in which deputies described the urgency of the situation to Apple.
“They need to make clear: a missing and endangered, vulnerable person with a disability,” his sister said. “It’s really frustrating, and it’s the only thing we know with certainty, that wherever he went, he took his iPad with him.”
The community’s help
O’Keefe said the sheriff’s office is still hoping the community will call 911 with any helpful information.
“Anytime we have someone who thinks they see Jonathan in the community, or has a tip for Jonathan, we have followed up on that,” said O’Keefe.
Hoang was reported to be wearing khaki pants, a green polo shirt and black slip-on shoes, and may be carrying his iPad. He is about 5 feet, 10 inches tall, weighs 135 pounds and has brown eyes and brown hair.
