SPOKANE, Wash— On Wednesday, Pullman Police issued a warrant for 21-year-old Aaron Aung, the father of two-year-old Sereya.
The toddler was purportedly with her father and reported missing Monday when he didn’t return her for a custody exchange with the child’s mother. To complicate matters more, Aung’s fiance, Nadia Cole, has been missing since May 28th.
This case involves multiple agencies and spans beyond state lines in Montana and Idaho. NonStop Local confirmed with the Pullman Police Department that they are also working with outside agencies in southern Idaho.
NonStop Local spoke to the Flathead County Sherrif’s Office, who confirmed they were involved in the case. However, they said there was not enough supporting evidence that Sereya and Aung ever made it to Montana.
According to the Washington State Patrol, they are not involved in the case because no Amber Alert has been issued. Pullman Police said they have not issued an Amber Alert because the evidence must indicate that Sereya is in imminent danger, and thus far, their investigation has yet to show this. They say at this time; their investigation demonstrates that Aung may be attempting to deny Sereya’s mother access to her rather than harm the 2-year-old.
While not commenting on the specifics of this case, Richard Collodi from the FBI said that they were actively assisting the agencies involved. He added that they often work alongside local law enforcement, providing support where needed, especially if someone believed to be missing has left the state.
“The approach of public safety as a whole is this will be all hands on deck. Anytime we have these kinds of matters we’ll enlist every agency who may have a lead who may have a tip, or jurisdiction or a special technique or tool will enlist them to be partners in this effort.”
He said another critical component of these types of investigations is information from the public.
“Those tips, those leads are the key to successfully locating and rescuing people who are victimized.”
Aung is 5′ 9″, 135 pounds, with black hair, and brown eyes.
If you have seen Aaron Aung, Sereya or Nadia Cole you are asked to contact police immediately.
