December 9, 2025 • 20 mins
If you have Jonathan, or know who does, you can end this now and do it with an anonymous tip called into Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS or through using their P3 app. Tips can also go to the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office directly at 425-388-3393 or the Major Crimes tip line at 425-388-3845.
GoFundMe - https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-us-find-jonathan-hoang-endangered-missing-person
Bonfire Fundraiser Store - https://www.bonfire.com/store/help-us-find-jonathan-hoang/
Change .org Petition - https://c.org/6nHRSr7Ytb
Help Us Find Jonathan Hoang Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/p/Help-Us-Find-Jonathan-Hoang-Endangered-Missing-Person-61575099717193/
Find Jonathan Hoang .com - https://findjonathanhoang.com/
Do you have any comments, or a case you’d like to suggest? You’ll find a comment form and case submission link at LordanArts.com.
This is not intended to act as a means of proving or disproving anything related to the investigation. It is a conversation about the current known facts and theories being discussed. Everyone directly or indirectly referred to is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
LordanArts 2025
GoFundMe - https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-us-find-jonathan-hoang-endangered-missing-person
Bonfire Fundraiser Store - https://www.bonfire.com/store/help-us-find-jonathan-hoang/
Change .org Petition - https://c.org/6nHRSr7Ytb
Help Us Find Jonathan Hoang Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/p/Help-Us-Find-Jonathan-Hoang-Endangered-Missing-Person-61575099717193/
Find Jonathan Hoang .com - https://findjonathanhoang.com/
Do you have any comments, or a case you’d like to suggest? You’ll find a comment form and case submission link at LordanArts.com.
This is not intended to act as a means of proving or disproving anything related to the investigation. It is a conversation about the current known facts and theories being discussed. Everyone directly or indirectly referred to is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
LordanArts 2025
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Some lives run on repetition, a regular walking loot through
a neighborhood, a beloved hooded jacket warned even on the
hottest days, Odds are you probably know someone like this.
But what if on one of those days that should
mirror all the rest that person vanished in Arlington, Washington.
That seriously mysterious reality now haunts a family. Why did
(00:45):
their twenty one year old son with autism seem to
disappear from the home that he loved to be in
so much on a cold March night, without a jacket
and wearing his mother's slip on gardening shoes. I'm John Lordon,
and today we're examining the disappearance of Jonathan Huang. Jonathan
was born on August thirtieth, two thousand and three, to
(01:06):
parents Tao and Anne. He has two sisters, Irene, who
is ten years older, and another sister one year younger
than him. As Jonathan grew up, his family noticed he
was a little different than his peers. He eventually received
a formal diagnosis of autism. When he went missing in
March of twenty twenty five, he was twenty one years old,
(01:26):
but his father, Tao told Dateline He presents as a
young man, but developmentally he is very young in his capability.
I would say he's somewhere between eight to nine years old,
maybe ten at most. The diagnosis helped his family understand
his needs and didn't change how much they adore him.
He is gentle, kind, funny, and so loved, they would say,
(01:50):
according to the family's website, find Jonathan Huang dot com.
He's also quiet, gravitates to cozy, familiar spaces, and likes
things calm and clean. He enjoys playing Minecraft and Nintendo games,
and he likes to dive deep down YouTube rabbit holes
all about cryptids. He's also very fond of the family
(02:10):
Yorkshire terrier named Lady. Functionally, Jonathan straddles independence and some
needs of support. He can do things like hold a conversation,
be home alone for stretches, care for Lady, take neighborhood walks,
and make crazy sandwich concoctions, which he loves to do,
but he needs help with more complex tasks like handling money,
(02:32):
using transportation, cooking, or problem solving. He has a unique
gait and often walks with his hands behind his back
or sits with his shoulders hunched forward. When anxious, he
rocks or paces, and he makes a soft, humming vocal sound.
He always asks permission before doing anything, even getting a
glass of water. Jonathan is trusting, naive, and so honest.
(02:56):
He might hurt your feelings without even realizing that he has.
The Hoongs currently live in Arlington, Washington, a quiet, semi
rural city in Snowhomish County, about forty miles north of
the state's biggest city, Seattle. Since graduating, Jonathan has been
enrolled in a high school transitions program that helps students
adjust to working jobs. He likes the comfort of routine.
(03:19):
His father, Tao, said, he goes to his walk probably
at least three times a day, sometimes more. It's a
mile loop from the house up to the stop sign.
He pretty much sticks to it very rigorously. Hearing that quote,
you can understand exactly why what happens next feels so
deeply strange. On the evening of March thirtieth, twenty twenty five,
(03:40):
Jonathan took his last neighborhood walk of the day and
returned around seven pm. Tao was on the treadmill when
Jonathan came in and he asked to sleep downstairs in
the guest's bedroom because of the noise. Tao told Jonathan
he'd be done soon, long before bedtime. A short time later,
Jonathan came back and asked if he could stay home
from the transitions program the next day because he didn't
(04:03):
feel well. Tao told Jonathan to sleep on it and
talk to his mother in the morning, then asked him
to take Lady outside, which he did. Around seven thirty pm,
Tao saw Jonathan for a final time, going to sleep
downstairs anyway. Tao thought it was a little odd that
he was going to bed so early rather than waiting
for his father to be done on the treadmill, but
(04:24):
if he wanted to sleep down there, that was fine.
The next morning, March thirty, first, Jonathan's mother, Anne went
to his room around six thirty as usual, but it
was empty. She called Tao, who was already at work,
and he told her to check the guest bedroom. To
their shock, Jonathan wasn't there. She and her youngest daughter
scoured the home and the yard and reached out to
(04:46):
the school to confirm that he hadn't. Somehow walked to
the bus stop early. Unfortunately, their front door's ring doorbell
didn't have an active subscription, but it would still lock
motion events. It hadn't logged Jonathan as leaving once he
come back from his walk at seven pm the night before.
The home also had a back door, of course, which
led to the yard, and that door was left unlocked
(05:08):
that night, although it's unclear if that was normal. A
later release from the Snowhomish County Sheriff's Office or SCSO
noted a family member possibly heard someone leave around five
thirty am, although they don't say who it was or
what exactly they heard. Anne also phoned her eldest daughter, Irene,
(05:29):
and then she called the police. The initial search and
rescue response was extensive. Trackers, helicopters and scent dogs combed
the neighborhood and nearby wooded areas. Jonathan was last seen
wearing a green polo and khaki pants at home, although
no one knows if that's what he was wearing when
he left. He wore hooded jackets as sort of a
(05:49):
security blanket, and march Knights in Arlington often dipping in
the mid thirties, but it appeared that he hadn't taken
one with him. Another detail stands out as especially odd
AND's black slip on gardening shoes by the back door
were gone. Jonathan would only use them to quickly step outside,
but never to go anywhere. He had also left his
(06:10):
cell phone, wallet, ID, cash, medications, and computer behind. The
only items unaccounted for were his Wi Fi only iPad
and wired earbuds. His sister Irene would tell News Nation
that was another thing that made me really sick when
my mom told me, because a lot of people with
autism use iPads to self regulate. But he never took
(06:33):
that iPad out of the house. In the days that followed,
searches escalated. By April fifth, a full scale operation had
been organized with roughly one hundred and fifty searchers, canine teams, drones,
and the scso's helicopter. This search ran for six days
and totaled about four thousand man hours. A SCSO release
(06:55):
noted that on April tenth, Search and Rescue had utilized
Northwest Human Remains Detection cane, but there were no indications
from the dogs. After the sixth day, the search was suspended. Somehow,
Jonathan Wang had simply disappeared without a trace. Jonathan Huang
(07:28):
was missing, and as time passed, some people stepped forward
with important questions. Neighbors would tell the Vanished podcast that
they expected the Sheriff's office to follow up about their
camera footage and any potential sightings, but they hadn't. According
to the family, the SCSO actually instructed them to gather
neighbors videos themselves, which they did. They also said that
(07:51):
their subdivision has only one road in and out, and
it has a camera recording twenty four to seven. That
camera captured Jonathan's last walk on the evening of March thirtieth,
but there was no later footage of him ever leaving
on foot. If he exited by that road, he likely
would have had to have been inside a vehicle. Most
of the vehicles captured on the camera that night were
(08:13):
identified by neighbors, but there were a few that couldn't
be accounted for. With so little to go on, Irene
thought back to the months before Jonathan's disappearance. She wanted
to identify anything that had changed in his life that
could have led to him leaving. He did have some
recent health issues and underwent gallbladder surgery a few months earlier.
(08:34):
He had also recently been to a doctor, where, according
to the family, he told the doctor that his mother
suggested restarting Adderall. His mother denies ever having that discussion,
but also acknowledges that saying something untrue is highly out
of character for him. Jonathan had just begun on site
training at Goodwill through the Transitions program and was struggling
(08:55):
with the change, so it's possible he thought restarting Adderall
might help with his anxiety or his work performance. The
pill bottle was left at the house with only two
pills gone. A stimulant restart can cause short term insomnia
or agitation, but severe reactions are rare. Irene also noted
(09:16):
that he stayed home sick on Thursday, March twenty seventh,
and asked again to stay home the morning following the
night he vanished. But was he feeling physically sick or
was something else going on? He had asked his mother
if he could stay in the transitions program for another
year rather than moving into the workplacement, but she told
him that he couldn't. Was this in some way a
(09:38):
catalyst to him leaving? In the weeks before he disappeared,
his transitions program had asked that some parental controls be
lifted off his devices so staff could teach him work
related texting and email. Given that change, and knowing Jonathan's trusting,
highly compliant nature, the family wonders whether someone might have
used technology to coax him out side of the home
(10:00):
that night. He didn't usually seek to make friends or
engage with people online, but he had dealt with some
in game bullying previously. Detectives forensically imaged his phone and
home computer, and checked his Apple, Google, and Microsoft accounts,
but found nothing suspicious before or after he vanished. His iPad, however,
(10:21):
is still missing even without cell service. That device's location
may be able to be determined if it connects to
a Wi Fi network, but it seems that that has
not happened yet, or if it did, investigators have not
disclosed it publicly. Jonathan was entered as a missing person
on March thirty first, and on April fourth, authorities classified
(10:42):
him as endangered missing, with an endangered missing person advisory
being issued. His sister, Irene recalled the deputy asking whether
Jonathan was high or low functioning, a binary that doesn't
accurately reflect the autism spectrum. She answered high functioning at
the time, but now worries that label led officers to
overestimate his independence and safety. She also relayed a troubling
(11:07):
exchange that happened between a deputy and their mother. The
deputy said, Oh, he can go off and start a
new life if he wants, and he'll probably come home
with a wife and two kids and a beard, and
you'll have a good laugh about it. The family felt
the remark showed a fundamental misunderstanding of who Jonathan is
and the urgency that the case deserves. Thanks to GoFundMe donations,
(11:30):
the family was able to bring on private investigator Adley
Shepherd to assist in their search. Jonathan's parents also faced
another hurdle in that they didn't have full access to
his medical or digital records. He was twenty one when
he went missing, but the family would later announce on
there help Us Find Jonathan Huang facebook page that a
court granted temporary emergency guardianship. For months, there was simply
(11:54):
no trail of Jonathan at all, but then a flicker
of hope. Between about eleven p m. And midnight on
June twenty third, twenty twenty five, a person resembling Jonathan
was captured on three home cameras in the South Juanita
area of Kirkland, Washington. The footage was grainy, but the
physical characteristics, unique posture, mannerisms, and movements were instantly recognizable
(12:17):
to the family. The person's clothing looked clean, a light
colored short sleeved shirt, dark pants, and shoes with darker
tops and lighter souls. The clothing matches the type of
things that he would wear, but not what he was
wearing when he was last seen. The person didn't appear
to have a clear direction, pacing and doubling back along
the road. In one clip, they linger near a porta potty,
(12:41):
and in another they approach a front door, but they
don't ring the doorbell or knock. Some people believe the
person is holding an iPad shaped object in one of
their videos, although it's impossible to be certain given the
low quality and darkness. His family, extended family, and teachers
are all in agreement, though it is Jonathan and the
vis His speech language pathologist even noted that his humming
(13:04):
could be heard when listening to enhanced audio. Kirkland is
a city roughly forty miles from Jonathan's home in Arlington.
This translates to about fifty minutes by car over two
hours with multiple bus changes to get there by public
transit or over fourteen hours to walk. Jonathan had used
public transit, but with help. Interestingly, the family's home is
(13:27):
on one fourteenth Drive in Arlington and one sided camera
location is one fourteenth Lane in Kirkland, South Wanida area.
Jonathan struggles with memorizing details and likely doesn't know his
full address, but if he remembered one fourteenth that could
potentially give some meaning to the area and him being there.
(13:50):
After the June twenty third clip surfaced, the family moved
search efforts to Kirkland they canvassed around the area, distributed flyers,
asked residents to review home camera footage, and organized meetups.
A side by side of two photos circulated on social media,
a screen grab from one of the siding videos and
an older photo of Jonathan in a similar shirt with
(14:10):
the same posture. Scso publicly stated that the sightings can't
be confirmed, but claim that detectives canvass the area for
additional surveillance, and coordinated with Kirkland Police. On August twenty
ninth and thirtieth, the family held a twenty two hour
awareness walk for Jonathan's twenty second birthday, starting and ending
(14:30):
at Juanita Beach Park. They also shared that the reward
was up to one hundred thousand dollars thanks to a
ninety thousand dollars donation from Florida businessman Earl Stewart. But
since late August, no other videos or confirmed clues have
surfaced in the case. As of November twenty twenty five,
the help us Find Jonathan Huang Facebook page has more
(14:52):
than fifteen thousand followers, and the case continues to draw
attention on social media. The family is also receiving help
from the gap Be Potito Foundation and Light the Way
Missing Person's Advocacy Project. There is also a change dot
org petition created by Irene that is asking for a
shift in focus on the investigation. It reads, SCSO must
(15:13):
treat Jonathan Huang'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
(15:35):
the capacity to act swiftly and thoroughly to take over jurisdiction.
SCSO states their detectives have been in touch with partner agencies,
including Washington State Patrol's Missing and Unidentified Persons Unit and
Kirkland and Arlington Police. However, no task force has ever
been announced, and the case is listed as an SCSO
(15:56):
led active missing person investigation, not a criminal investigation. So
what truly happened to Jonathan and where is he now?
It seems highly improbable that he would have run away alone.
His family had previously offered other supportive living arrangements, but
he wanted to live at home and his parents were
happy to have him there indefinitely. Even if anxiety over
(16:20):
his new on site training had caused him to panic
and walk out of the house, why not grab proper
shoes and his favorite jacket for the chilly night? And
if he did leave, why wasn't he seen on the
neighborhood choke point camera or found in the nearby woods. Strangely, though,
Jonathan had insisted on being downstairs that night, which suggests
(16:41):
he could have been planning to leave for some reason.
The family believes the most likely scenario is that someone
lured him outside for what he thought would be a
quick meeting, and then they abducted him there's no physical proof,
but it explains his actions, why he wanted to stay downstairs,
why he still expected to be there next day and
wanted to stay home sick, why he wore and took
(17:03):
so little, and how he hasn't been seen since. Although
it sounds a little wild, it's hard to deny that
the abduction theory is potentially the most plausible. There's no
sign of planning on his phone or computer, but his
missing iPad is a blind spot. If the lure and
abduction theory do fit, then how do the Kirkland video
(17:23):
clips factor in? If the Kirkland clips are indeed him,
someone in that area may be sheltering or controlling Jonathan,
regardless of where he is and what has happened. His
family says they will never give up looking until they
find him. If you have Jonathan, or know who does,
you can end this now and do it with an
anonymous tip called into Crime Stoppers at one eight hundred
(17:46):
two two two tips or through using their P three app.
Tips can also go to the Snowhomish County Sheriff's Office
directly at four two five three eight eight three three
ninety three, or the Major Crimes Tip Line at four
two five, three eight eight three eight four five. Links
to the families go Fundme Facebook website, bonfire fundraiser store,
(18:08):
and change dot org petition can be found in the
podcast notes for this episode. Jonathan Wang was last seen
in Arlington, Washington on March thirtieth, twenty twenty five, with
possible sightings in South Janita Kirkland on June twenty third.
He is Asian and white, five feet ten inches tall,
about one hundred and thirty five pounds, with brown hair
and brown eyes, a large mole on his right inner
(18:30):
forearm and two moles on the left side of his face.
If you think you see him, please immediately call nine
one one. If safe, take a clear photo and ask
are you Jonathan and note his direction of travel. If
he leaves before police arrive. There is a one hundred
thousand dollars reward for information that brings Jonathan home. Do
(18:52):
you have any insights or in case you'd like to suggest,
feel free to send it to me. You'll find a
comment form and case submission link at lord Narts dot com.
Thank you to find Jonathan Huang dot org, the Help
Us Find Jonathan Huang Facebook page, The Vanished Podcast Dateline,
Como News, King five News, Fox thirteen, Seattle, People News Nation,
(19:14):
The News Tribune, Snowhomish County, Google Maps and Wikipedia for
information contributing to today's case. This episode was written by
Kira McQueen, edited by John Lordon, and produced by Lordenarts.
Thank you so much to our audience here for the
live recording session hosted on the YouTube channel Lorden Arts
Studio too, and a special thanks to Seriously Mysterious financial
(19:35):
supporters Raven Nix, Candy Bishop, Susie B. Jones, Robert Martin
and Jen four seventeen. Most of all, thank you for listening.
I'm John Lordon. Please join us again next week for
another case I know you'll find seriously mysterious
Some lives run on repetition, a regular walking loot through
a neighborhood, a beloved hooded jacket warned even on the
hottest days, Odds are you probably know someone like this.
But what if on one of those days that should
mirror all the rest that person vanished in Arlington, Washington.
That seriously mysterious reality now haunts a family. Why did
(00:45):
their twenty one year old son with autism seem to
disappear from the home that he loved to be in
so much on a cold March night, without a jacket
and wearing his mother's slip on gardening shoes. I'm John Lordon,
and today we're examining the disappearance of Jonathan Huang. Jonathan
was born on August thirtieth, two thousand and three, to
(01:06):
parents Tao and Anne. He has two sisters, Irene, who
is ten years older, and another sister one year younger
than him. As Jonathan grew up, his family noticed he
was a little different than his peers. He eventually received
a formal diagnosis of autism. When he went missing in
March of twenty twenty five, he was twenty one years old,
(01:26):
but his father, Tao told Dateline He presents as a
young man, but developmentally he is very young in his capability.
I would say he's somewhere between eight to nine years old,
maybe ten at most. The diagnosis helped his family understand
his needs and didn't change how much they adore him.
He is gentle, kind, funny, and so loved, they would say,
(01:50):
according to the family's website, find Jonathan Huang dot com.
He's also quiet, gravitates to cozy, familiar spaces, and likes
things calm and clean. He enjoys playing Minecraft and Nintendo games,
and he likes to dive deep down YouTube rabbit holes
all about cryptids. He's also very fond of the family
(02:10):
Yorkshire terrier named Lady. Functionally, Jonathan straddles independence and some
needs of support. He can do things like hold a conversation,
be home alone for stretches, care for Lady, take neighborhood walks,
and make crazy sandwich concoctions, which he loves to do,
but he needs help with more complex tasks like handling money,
(02:32):
using transportation, cooking, or problem solving. He has a unique
gait and often walks with his hands behind his back
or sits with his shoulders hunched forward. When anxious, he
rocks or paces, and he makes a soft, humming vocal sound.
He always asks permission before doing anything, even getting a
glass of water. Jonathan is trusting, naive, and so honest.
(02:56):
He might hurt your feelings without even realizing that he has.
The Hoongs currently live in Arlington, Washington, a quiet, semi
rural city in Snowhomish County, about forty miles north of
the state's biggest city, Seattle. Since graduating, Jonathan has been
enrolled in a high school transitions program that helps students
adjust to working jobs. He likes the comfort of routine.
(03:19):
His father, Tao, said, he goes to his walk probably
at least three times a day, sometimes more. It's a
mile loop from the house up to the stop sign.
He pretty much sticks to it very rigorously. Hearing that quote,
you can understand exactly why what happens next feels so
deeply strange. On the evening of March thirtieth, twenty twenty five,
(03:40):
Jonathan took his last neighborhood walk of the day and
returned around seven pm. Tao was on the treadmill when
Jonathan came in and he asked to sleep downstairs in
the guest's bedroom because of the noise. Tao told Jonathan
he'd be done soon, long before bedtime. A short time later,
Jonathan came back and asked if he could stay home
from the transitions program the next day because he didn't
(04:03):
feel well. Tao told Jonathan to sleep on it and
talk to his mother in the morning, then asked him
to take Lady outside, which he did. Around seven thirty pm,
Tao saw Jonathan for a final time, going to sleep
downstairs anyway. Tao thought it was a little odd that
he was going to bed so early rather than waiting
for his father to be done on the treadmill, but
(04:24):
if he wanted to sleep down there, that was fine.
The next morning, March thirty, first, Jonathan's mother, Anne went
to his room around six thirty as usual, but it
was empty. She called Tao, who was already at work,
and he told her to check the guest bedroom. To
their shock, Jonathan wasn't there. She and her youngest daughter
scoured the home and the yard and reached out to
(04:46):
the school to confirm that he hadn't. Somehow walked to
the bus stop early. Unfortunately, their front door's ring doorbell
didn't have an active subscription, but it would still lock
motion events. It hadn't logged Jonathan as leaving once he
come back from his walk at seven pm the night before.
The home also had a back door, of course, which
led to the yard, and that door was left unlocked
(05:08):
that night, although it's unclear if that was normal. A
later release from the Snowhomish County Sheriff's Office or SCSO
noted a family member possibly heard someone leave around five
thirty am, although they don't say who it was or
what exactly they heard. Anne also phoned her eldest daughter, Irene,
(05:29):
and then she called the police. The initial search and
rescue response was extensive. Trackers, helicopters and scent dogs combed
the neighborhood and nearby wooded areas. Jonathan was last seen
wearing a green polo and khaki pants at home, although
no one knows if that's what he was wearing when
he left. He wore hooded jackets as sort of a
(05:49):
security blanket, and march Knights in Arlington often dipping in
the mid thirties, but it appeared that he hadn't taken
one with him. Another detail stands out as especially odd
AND's black slip on gardening shoes by the back door
were gone. Jonathan would only use them to quickly step outside,
but never to go anywhere. He had also left his
(06:10):
cell phone, wallet, ID, cash, medications, and computer behind. The
only items unaccounted for were his Wi Fi only iPad
and wired earbuds. His sister Irene would tell News Nation
that was another thing that made me really sick when
my mom told me, because a lot of people with
autism use iPads to self regulate. But he never took
(06:33):
that iPad out of the house. In the days that followed,
searches escalated. By April fifth, a full scale operation had
been organized with roughly one hundred and fifty searchers, canine teams, drones,
and the scso's helicopter. This search ran for six days
and totaled about four thousand man hours. A SCSO release
(06:55):
noted that on April tenth, Search and Rescue had utilized
Northwest Human Remains Detection cane, but there were no indications
from the dogs. After the sixth day, the search was suspended. Somehow,
Jonathan Wang had simply disappeared without a trace. Jonathan Huang
(07:28):
was missing, and as time passed, some people stepped forward
with important questions. Neighbors would tell the Vanished podcast that
they expected the Sheriff's office to follow up about their
camera footage and any potential sightings, but they hadn't. According
to the family, the SCSO actually instructed them to gather
neighbors videos themselves, which they did. They also said that
(07:51):
their subdivision has only one road in and out, and
it has a camera recording twenty four to seven. That
camera captured Jonathan's last walk on the evening of March thirtieth,
but there was no later footage of him ever leaving
on foot. If he exited by that road, he likely
would have had to have been inside a vehicle. Most
of the vehicles captured on the camera that night were
(08:13):
identified by neighbors, but there were a few that couldn't
be accounted for. With so little to go on, Irene
thought back to the months before Jonathan's disappearance. She wanted
to identify anything that had changed in his life that
could have led to him leaving. He did have some
recent health issues and underwent gallbladder surgery a few months earlier.
(08:34):
He had also recently been to a doctor, where, according
to the family, he told the doctor that his mother
suggested restarting Adderall. His mother denies ever having that discussion,
but also acknowledges that saying something untrue is highly out
of character for him. Jonathan had just begun on site
training at Goodwill through the Transitions program and was struggling
(08:55):
with the change, so it's possible he thought restarting Adderall
might help with his anxiety or his work performance. The
pill bottle was left at the house with only two
pills gone. A stimulant restart can cause short term insomnia
or agitation, but severe reactions are rare. Irene also noted
(09:16):
that he stayed home sick on Thursday, March twenty seventh,
and asked again to stay home the morning following the
night he vanished. But was he feeling physically sick or
was something else going on? He had asked his mother
if he could stay in the transitions program for another
year rather than moving into the workplacement, but she told
him that he couldn't. Was this in some way a
(09:38):
catalyst to him leaving? In the weeks before he disappeared,
his transitions program had asked that some parental controls be
lifted off his devices so staff could teach him work
related texting and email. Given that change, and knowing Jonathan's trusting,
highly compliant nature, the family wonders whether someone might have
used technology to coax him out side of the home
(10:00):
that night. He didn't usually seek to make friends or
engage with people online, but he had dealt with some
in game bullying previously. Detectives forensically imaged his phone and
home computer, and checked his Apple, Google, and Microsoft accounts,
but found nothing suspicious before or after he vanished. His iPad, however,
(10:21):
is still missing even without cell service. That device's location
may be able to be determined if it connects to
a Wi Fi network, but it seems that that has
not happened yet, or if it did, investigators have not
disclosed it publicly. Jonathan was entered as a missing person
on March thirty first, and on April fourth, authorities classified
(10:42):
him as endangered missing, with an endangered missing person advisory
being issued. His sister, Irene recalled the deputy asking whether
Jonathan was high or low functioning, a binary that doesn't
accurately reflect the autism spectrum. She answered high functioning at
the time, but now worries that label led officers to
overestimate his independence and safety. She also relayed a troubling
(11:07):
exchange that happened between a deputy and their mother. The
deputy said, Oh, he can go off and start a
new life if he wants, and he'll probably come home
with a wife and two kids and a beard, and
you'll have a good laugh about it. The family felt
the remark showed a fundamental misunderstanding of who Jonathan is
and the urgency that the case deserves. Thanks to GoFundMe donations,
(11:30):
the family was able to bring on private investigator Adley
Shepherd to assist in their search. Jonathan's parents also faced
another hurdle in that they didn't have full access to
his medical or digital records. He was twenty one when
he went missing, but the family would later announce on
there help Us Find Jonathan Huang facebook page that a
court granted temporary emergency guardianship. For months, there was simply
(11:54):
no trail of Jonathan at all, but then a flicker
of hope. Between about eleven p m. And midnight on
June twenty third, twenty twenty five, a person resembling Jonathan
was captured on three home cameras in the South Juanita
area of Kirkland, Washington. The footage was grainy, but the
physical characteristics, unique posture, mannerisms, and movements were instantly recognizable
(12:17):
to the family. The person's clothing looked clean, a light
colored short sleeved shirt, dark pants, and shoes with darker
tops and lighter souls. The clothing matches the type of
things that he would wear, but not what he was
wearing when he was last seen. The person didn't appear
to have a clear direction, pacing and doubling back along
the road. In one clip, they linger near a porta potty,
(12:41):
and in another they approach a front door, but they
don't ring the doorbell or knock. Some people believe the
person is holding an iPad shaped object in one of
their videos, although it's impossible to be certain given the
low quality and darkness. His family, extended family, and teachers
are all in agreement, though it is Jonathan and the
vis His speech language pathologist even noted that his humming
(13:04):
could be heard when listening to enhanced audio. Kirkland is
a city roughly forty miles from Jonathan's home in Arlington.
This translates to about fifty minutes by car over two
hours with multiple bus changes to get there by public
transit or over fourteen hours to walk. Jonathan had used
public transit, but with help. Interestingly, the family's home is
(13:27):
on one fourteenth Drive in Arlington and one sided camera
location is one fourteenth Lane in Kirkland, South Wanida area.
Jonathan struggles with memorizing details and likely doesn't know his
full address, but if he remembered one fourteenth that could
potentially give some meaning to the area and him being there.
(13:50):
After the June twenty third clip surfaced, the family moved
search efforts to Kirkland they canvassed around the area, distributed flyers,
asked residents to review home camera footage, and organized meetups.
A side by side of two photos circulated on social media,
a screen grab from one of the siding videos and
an older photo of Jonathan in a similar shirt with
(14:10):
the same posture. Scso publicly stated that the sightings can't
be confirmed, but claim that detectives canvass the area for
additional surveillance, and coordinated with Kirkland Police. On August twenty
ninth and thirtieth, the family held a twenty two hour
awareness walk for Jonathan's twenty second birthday, starting and ending
(14:30):
at Juanita Beach Park. They also shared that the reward
was up to one hundred thousand dollars thanks to a
ninety thousand dollars donation from Florida businessman Earl Stewart. But
since late August, no other videos or confirmed clues have
surfaced in the case. As of November twenty twenty five,
the help us Find Jonathan Huang Facebook page has more
(14:52):
than fifteen thousand followers, and the case continues to draw
attention on social media. The family is also receiving help
from the gap Be Potito Foundation and Light the Way
Missing Person's Advocacy Project. There is also a change dot
org petition created by Irene that is asking for a
shift in focus on the investigation. It reads, SCSO must
(15:13):
treat Jonathan Huang'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
(15:35):
the capacity to act swiftly and thoroughly to take over jurisdiction.
SCSO states their detectives have been in touch with partner agencies,
including Washington State Patrol's Missing and Unidentified Persons Unit and
Kirkland and Arlington Police. However, no task force has ever
been announced, and the case is listed as an SCSO
(15:56):
led active missing person investigation, not a criminal investigation. So
what truly happened to Jonathan and where is he now?
It seems highly improbable that he would have run away alone.
His family had previously offered other supportive living arrangements, but
he wanted to live at home and his parents were
happy to have him there indefinitely. Even if anxiety over
(16:20):
his new on site training had caused him to panic
and walk out of the house, why not grab proper
shoes and his favorite jacket for the chilly night? And
if he did leave, why wasn't he seen on the
neighborhood choke point camera or found in the nearby woods. Strangely, though,
Jonathan had insisted on being downstairs that night, which suggests
(16:41):
he could have been planning to leave for some reason.
The family believes the most likely scenario is that someone
lured him outside for what he thought would be a
quick meeting, and then they abducted him there's no physical proof,
but it explains his actions, why he wanted to stay downstairs,
why he still expected to be there next day and
wanted to stay home sick, why he wore and took
(17:03):
so little, and how he hasn't been seen since. Although
it sounds a little wild, it's hard to deny that
the abduction theory is potentially the most plausible. There's no
sign of planning on his phone or computer, but his
missing iPad is a blind spot. If the lure and
abduction theory do fit, then how do the Kirkland video
(17:23):
clips factor in? If the Kirkland clips are indeed him,
someone in that area may be sheltering or controlling Jonathan,
regardless of where he is and what has happened. His
family says they will never give up looking until they
find him. If you have Jonathan, or know who does,
you can end this now and do it with an
anonymous tip called into Crime Stoppers at one eight hundred
(17:46):
two two two tips or through using their P three app.
Tips can also go to the Snowhomish County Sheriff's Office
directly at four two five three eight eight three three
ninety three, or the Major Crimes Tip Line at four
two five, three eight eight three eight four five. Links
to the families go Fundme Facebook website, bonfire fundraiser store,
(18:08):
and change dot org petition can be found in the
podcast notes for this episode. Jonathan Wang was last seen
in Arlington, Washington on March thirtieth, twenty twenty five, with
possible sightings in South Janita Kirkland on June twenty third.
He is Asian and white, five feet ten inches tall,
about one hundred and thirty five pounds, with brown hair
and brown eyes, a large mole on his right inner
(18:30):
forearm and two moles on the left side of his face.
If you think you see him, please immediately call nine
one one. If safe, take a clear photo and ask
are you Jonathan and note his direction of travel. If
he leaves before police arrive. There is a one hundred
thousand dollars reward for information that brings Jonathan home. Do
(18:52):
you have any insights or in case you'd like to suggest,
feel free to send it to me. You'll find a
comment form and case submission link at lord Narts dot com.
Thank you to find Jonathan Huang dot org, the Help
Us Find Jonathan Huang Facebook page, The Vanished Podcast Dateline,
Como News, King five News, Fox thirteen, Seattle, People News Nation,
(19:14):
The News Tribune, Snowhomish County, Google Maps and Wikipedia for
information contributing to today's case. This episode was written by
Kira McQueen, edited by John Lordon, and produced by Lordenarts.
Thank you so much to our audience here for the
live recording session hosted on the YouTube channel Lorden Arts
Studio too, and a special thanks to Seriously Mysterious financial
(19:35):
supporters Raven Nix, Candy Bishop, Susie B. Jones, Robert Martin
and Jen four seventeen. Most of all, thank you for listening.
I'm John Lordon. Please join us again next week for
another case I know you'll find seriously mysterious
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