Det. William Westsik expressed doubt about Jonathan’s vulnerability, writing, “he is able to effectively navigate public transit.” That’s something his dad disputes.
ARLINGTON, Wash. — National autism advocates are raising alarms over the response by the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office to the disappearance of a vulnerable 21-year-old man from Arlington.
Jonathan Hoang, who has autism, has been missing for more than three weeks. His family and advocates told KING 5 they believe critical time was lost in the early days of the search.
“He’s been three weeks plus without his medication now, and we’re just so scared for him,” said Jonathan’s father, Thao Hoang, in an interview Thursday. “It’s been excruciating. It’s been so painful.”
Jonathan was last seen in his home in Arlington. His mother discovered he was missing from his bedroom on Monday, March 31. He was last seen entering his room to go to sleep.
Despite his developmental disability, the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office waited until Friday, five days later, to issue a special alert. Under Washington state policy, individuals with autism who go missing are eligible for an Endangered Missing Persons Advisory, a resource designed to prompt immediate regional awareness.
After activation of this advisory, all Washington law enforcement agencies are notified through an ACCESS Administrative Message, and all media partners and public subscribers are notified.
National autism advocates, like Autism Foundation CEO Cori Marrero, said that detectives’ delay may have cost vital opportunities to locate Jonathan safely.
“When this alert could have been out, he could have had more eyes on him,” said Marrero.
Public records shed some light on the issue.
In a series of email chains obtained by KING 5, a Snohomish County sergeant named Det. William Westsik told the Washington State Patrol’s Missing and Unidentified Persons Unit on Thursday., Apr. 3., that Jonathan “is not being considered an endangered missing person,” adding that he “is able to effectively navigate public transit.”
Jonathan’s father disputes that characterization.
“That is absolutely false,” Hoang said. “He never went on public transport by himself, and we live three miles away from the closest bus stop.”
The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office acknowledged there was a delay in issuing the alert but defended their handling of the case.
“You’re right, there was a couple days in between that,” said Courtney O’Keefe, Director of Communications, Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office. “But on the first day, he was entered in the national database as a missing person.”
Because of that, she said any law enforcement official who’d interacted with him could have run his name in that database and been notified that he was a missing person.
“Certainly our goal here is the same as the family,” O’Keefe said in an interview. “We understand the grief and uncertainty that his loved ones are currently facing, and anyone with information about Jonathan, we ask that they please call 911.”
As of Thursday, Jonathan remains missing. His family, community members, and national advocates continue to search for him, and call for changes in how local agencies respond when vulnerable individuals, specifically those on the Autism Spectrum, go missing.
