Authorities in Washington announced Monday that 2-year-old Zelaya Aung Harmon, who had been missing since May 29 from Moscow, Idaho, had been found at a checkpoint near Santa Ana, Mexico.
Authorities in Pullman, Washington, allege the toddler’s father, 21-year-old Aaron Aoun, failed to return Zelaya to her mother on June 3. He then allegedly fled to Mexico with his daughter and her fiancée, 21-year-old Nadia Cole, who went missing at Seattle International Airport the same day.
“Aaron Aoun is currently being held at the Santa Cruz County Detention Center in Nogales, Arizona awaiting extradition to Whitman County on an outstanding warrant for first degree custodial interference. Cole has since been deported to the United States. Zelaya is in the custody of Arizona Child Protective Services,” Pullman police said in a press release.
Officers from Pullman Police, Moscow Police, the FBI, the National Institute for Migration Studies, Mexico State Police, Nogales Police and U.S. Customs and Border Protection worked together to return the three to their home country.
Washington woman and her Idaho fiance may have fled to Mexico with missing 2-year-old Zelaya Aung Harmon: police
Serayah Aung Harmon had been scheduled to go on a fishing trip in Montana with her father, Aaron Aung, until June 3rd. (Facebook)
“This was an incredibly collaborative effort and we are very grateful to all agencies involved and to the safe outcome for everyone,” Moscow police said in a statement Thursday.
Cole’s parents, Kirk and Beata Cole, released a statement saying the 21-year-old college graduate was “recovered safe and unharmed by Mexican police” on July 4 and had returned to his parents.
Washington State University graduate’s disappearance at Seattle airport linked to missing Idaho man and toddler
“Since her return, Nadia has cooperated fully with authorities to assist in locating Aaron Aung and two-year-old Serayah Aung Harmon and ensuring their safe return,” Kirk and Beata said in a statement. “She is recovering from her ordeal in a safe, private location. The details of the circumstances leading to her disappearance remain under investigation and we trust that further information will be released by investigating authorities as they deem appropriate.”
Nadia Erica Cole was reported missing at the airport on May 29, according to a private investigator hired by her family. (Instagram)
Cole posted on Instagram that he plans to get engaged to Aoun in November 2023.
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Before her disappearance on May 29, Seraya had been in Aoun’s hometown of Moscow. According to statements from police and Cole’s family, Cole was last seen at Seattle International Airport, preparing to depart for a family trip to Italy. She was waiting to board the flight but “left her luggage at the gate to use the restroom and never returned.”
Pullman police have issued an arrest warrant for Aaron Aung. (Pullman Police Department)
“It was initially believed that Aoun had traveled to Montana because he had been seen in Moscow purchasing camping equipment and a Montana atlas,” police said at the time. “However, subsequent investigations determined that Aoun and Cole likely traveled to Mexico in a black 2014 Cadillac XTS with Idaho license plate 1L5147U.”
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Authorities issued an arrest warrant for Aoun on June 5 for first-degree interference with custody for violating a court-ordered parenting plan, as Zelaya was scheduled to be returned to her mother just days after she was last seen in Moscow.
