WA WA - Nadia Erika Cole, 22, missing from SeaTac, 29 May 2024

[MsKitty]

My concern, and I hope I'm wrong, is that something happened to the child and that's why he fled. Otherwise, does he really think he can scoop up his child and fiance and live out their lives in Mexico? Could he really be that obtuse?

That is exactly my biggest concern and wondered about that from early on - did something happen to the child?? I pray that’s not the case,but I just can’t imagine a scenario that would cause NC to so abruptly leave her life and family to go on the run.

 

[bestill]

My concern, and I hope I'm wrong, is that something happened to the child and that's why he fled. Otherwise, does he really think he can scoop up his child and fiance and live out their lives in Mexico? Could he really be that obtuse?

If they were looking for just the couple wouldn't LE make that known? I have so many questions about the new information about the car. Is the info coming from a report of the car missing or does LE know they are traveling in that car and that they have crossed into Mexico? I don't think they would release the car info without verification that it's accurate. eta JMO

 

[Ontario Mom]

If they were looking for just the couple wouldn't LE make that known? I have so many questions about the new information about the car. Is the info coming from a report of the car missing or does LE know they are traveling in that car and that they have crossed into Mexico? I don't think they would release the car info without verification that it's accurate. eta JMO

I'm curious to know how LE knows Mexico was the intended destination.
As well as, if the car is registered to AA's father, did he (AA) borrow it under false pretenses or did his parents willingly assist him? I haven't seen anywhere that they've been arrested so I'm guessing they likely weren't aware of his plans to disappear with the child.

SO many questions.

 

[bestill]

Flyers could be circulated with her in dark hair and him with a beard, they would look totally different. JMO

 

[Megnut]

Pre-law is like pre-med. There is no defined curriculum for either, although Med school has a number of courses you must take, they can be mixed into a non-science major like English or History easily. I think the LSAT part was added by her parents.

Most people intent on going to law school take the LSAT earlier than the summer after they graduate. Based on her running away from her home to live a life on the run it's safe to say we wasn't totally committed to law school.

She may get her education in law by a whole different route here.

Up, close, and personal.

JMO

 

[AnyNameIWish]

Edited: corrected her destination, 3rd/University Station.

If the photos provided were from 3:08pm of leaving the Airport station (as stated on flyer)...the soonest she'd be at 3rd/University is.... 3:30? 4?. I'm thinking meetup with AA after that... soonest would be 4:30-5pm??? That's IF they're stellar planners & she had a burner phone on her person?

Honestly all this talk is moot at this point since THEY ARE LIKELY IN MEXICO BY NOW.

 

[Bree1950]

I keep coming back to the possibility that Nadia may not be a willing participant in all this. Perhaps Aaron contacted her when she was at the airport with some made up story to get her to leave. I cannot personally come up with a story that would cause me to ditch my parents and belongings at the airport but it's possible Aaron knew exactly what buttons to push to cause her to walk away. As many of us surely know, 21 year olds in general sometimes don't make the best, most logical decisions.

If Aaron was able to get her out of the airport and into the Cadillac, he could be holding Nadia just as much as he's holding Seraya. Nadia may not be willingly participating in any of this. I do hope they are all safe.

I feel she did this because she wanted to be with him! I realize he may be controlling but I can’t see her planning this out like she did with layered clothes she changed out in camera pics and ditching her items that can be traced!

 

[Artis]

So we can confirm at this point that by 5pm on 5/29 the Cadillac was heading south towards Mexico with 3 people inside. It's a 21 hour drive if you do it straight thru into TJ.

Why didn't the Aung family notice a missing Cadillac until 6/7? And don't tell me "language barrier."

Could be they bought the car for their son and while it's their name, he drives it.

 

[Ontario Mom]

From SeaTac to University Station it's a 58min ride on the Light Rail. (I just chose Bartell Drugs as the destination on the Ave cuz I'm familiar with where that is.)

If the photos provided were from 3:08pm of leaving the Airport station (as stated on flyer)...the soonest she'd be in the University District is around 4:10pm.... I'm thinking meetup with AA after that... soonest would be 4:30-5pm. That's IF they're stellar planners & she had a burner phone on her person.

I have no idea how familiar he was with Seattle but maybe they arrainged for him to pick her up at any of the landmarks on the waterfront? Ferry terminal, Ivars, the Aquarium, etc. They're all easy to find for someone not familiar with the area. Then boom, straight on to I-5 and off they go.

 

[Bree1950]

She may get her education in law by a whole different route here.

Up, close, and personal.

JMO

Her degree was in philosophy. I agree, most planning on entering law school would have taken the LSAT and applied for Fall admission.

 

[Cedars]

I have had this concern as well. The timing of NC's disappearance does not make sense if the couple was intending to disappear. If this was a preplanned collaboration, they'd want their departure to go unnoticed for as long as possible to give themselves a head start. Leaving when she did gave them the absolute least amount of time possible before their disappearance would be noticed and become a major concern (minutes, rather than the hours head start they'd get if she'd snuck away from home the night before), which makes me think that:

A) there was some other catalyst that NC was not expecting -- a message or Snapchat that would not only be dire and immediate emergency but would require her to keep her departure a secret from her parents
-or-
B ) NC was coerced into a situation she knew was bad and wanted people to be looking for her immediately.

ETA: I do wish we knew when AA picked up SAH on that day, because that's quite a drive from Pullman to Seattle, and that could also play into why NC left when she did.

I've puzzled over that timing as well.

As I mentioned upthread, what if she did it at the airport as a deliberate way to communicate that she has chosen to leave, ie actually make it less hard on her parents.

If she just 'went out for a walk' and vanished, there would be so much fear about a possible abduction by a stranger. Or, even if later it came to be suspected she went with AA, fear that he had literally held a gun to her head...

This way, there really is no doubt of her intention and it was her own decision. There really wasn't risk of them being caught, the confusion would take time to clear up, and by then they'd be in Mexico.

JMO

 

[sasha17]

From SeaTac to University Station it's a 58min ride on the Light Rail. (I just chose Bartell Drugs as the destination on the Ave cuz I'm familiar with where that is.)

If the photos provided were from 3:08pm of leaving the Airport station (as stated on flyer)...the soonest she'd be in the University District is around 4:10pm.... I'm thinking meetup with AA after that... soonest would be 4:30-5pm. That's IF they're stellar planners & she had a burner phone on her person.

She wasn't going to the university district. She got off at the University Street station, which is in downtown Seattle close to the waterfront, at 3rd and University Street. It's not near UW or the university district.

 

[AnyNameIWish]

She wasn't going to the university district. She got off at the University Street station, which is in downtown Seattle close to the waterfront, at 3rd and University Street. It's not near UW or the university district.

THANK YOU FOR THIS! I was so focused on the university district.

So that pushes up the timeline once again, making it even sooner NC could have been picked up in AA's Caddie on the 29th.

 

[sasha17]

Perhaps this visual graphic from SoundTransit will help. Nadia got on the light rail at the SeaTac/Airport stop and got off at the University Street station, 11 stops later. Stations | Link light rail stations | Sound Transit

 

[NCWatcher]

Her degree was in philosophy. I agree, most planning on entering law school would have taken the LSAT and applied for Fall admission.

Per her LinkedIn page someone posted earlier, NC described herself as

"Student at Washington State University studying political science, philosophy, and economics on the pre-law track."
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nadia-cole-72b738294

Per the WSU 2024 commencement program, she earned a degree in political science AND a degree in philosophy. Both are listed as BA degrees so I guess it was more of a double major situation (vs 2 degrees as it would have been had 1 been a BS degree and the other a BA degree. )

2243 - Spring 2024 | WSU Graduations

I don't think the majority of students necessarily go straight from undergrad to law school with just a summer break between. Per the ABA Journal stats I provided in an earlier post, it appears to be closer to 1/2 & 1/2.

And, for example, in the Class of 2026 at Harvard Law

82% at least one year out of college
69% two or more years out of college
21% four or more years out of college

So I'm not sure how unusual NC was in that regard.

HLS 1L Profile and Facts - Harvard Law School

J.D. Class of 2026 82% at least one year out of college 69% two or more years out of college 21% four or more years out of college Academic Percentiles 25th 50th 75th LSAT 171 174 176 GRE Verbal 165 167 169 GRE Quantitative 161 165 168 GRE Writing 5 5.5 5.5 GPA 3.84 3.93 […]

hls.harvard.edu

MOO

 

[Megnut]

(I meant she's going to learn a whole lot about LAW real soon. From the wrong side of it.)

How sophisticated could these two be?

Are they trying to hide in Mexico? Did they fly out of Mexico? Did they score a passport for the little one? Is N's family all international travelers? Any young ones? Any missing passports? Who would even think to check....

What are they doing for money??

I'm shocked. To go from a custodial violation to kidnapping across state lines and now international -- yikes. Do they know how deep they're in it?

They need to be smart before they can make this worse than it already is.

At a minimum, turn the child in. Safely.

JMO

 

[AnyNameIWish]

All... I still assert that the lovely NC, honors graduate of a double major degree from Washington State University, daughter of a Doctor Cole, will NOT face charges if they all come home unharmed. Privilege has its privileges.

Leaving the USA to Mx without passports as adults is not problematic but...how did they leave with the toddler? She would have to be in a car seat, she's definitely too young for a booster chair... those are bulky and take up space, not easy to hide. (Obviously they need a passport or passport card for the little kiddo. Wondering if they could have hidden her somehow, but this is difficult with a car seat visible.)

 

[sasha17]

Leaving the USA to Mx without passports as adults is not problematic but...how did they leave with the toddler? She would have to be in a car seat, she's definitely too young for a booster chair... those are bulky and take up space, not easy to hide.

Bringing this forward from further back in the thread... All three of them would need passports to enter Mexico.

I looked into whether or not people need a passport to get into Mexico. It looks like you used to be able to enter without a passport, until a new law came into effect called the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative which increased border security. Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative

From the Mexican government website: "All citizens of the United States must present a valid passport when entering Mexican territory by any means of transportation. There are no exceptions for minors. Stays less than 72 hours within the border area, do not require an Official Entry Immigration Form (FMM)." KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

 

[Centaurus]

If traveling by land or sea, I keep finding sources that state you can enter Mexico with an Enhanced Driver's License (wouldn't be available for ID residents, but WA residents). So a passport isn't 100% required for entry.

"A State-issued Enhanced Driver's License (EDL) provides travelers not only a license to drive but also a proof of identity and citizenship when exiting and re-entering the United States borders.

This card was created under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) to provide a convenient, yet secure way for travelers from certain border states to enter and exit the country. That said, there are limits to what countries can you visit with an enhanced license."

Enhanced Driver's License for International Travel

Using an enhanced driver's license for international travel. Crossing land borders with an enhanced driver's license instead of a passport.

www.us-passport-service-guide.com

Enhanced Drivers Licenses: What Are They? | Homeland Security

Enhanced Drivers Licenses (EDLs) are state-issued enhanced drivers licenses that provide proof of identity and U.S. citizenship.

www.dhs.gov

 

[Cedars]

How sophisticated could these two be?

Are they trying to hide in Mexico? Did they fly out of Mexico? Did they score a passport for the little one? Is N's family all international travelers? Any young ones? Any missing passports? Who would even think to check....

What are they doing for money??

I'm shocked. To go from a custodial violation to kidnapping across state lines and now international -- yikes. Do they know how deep they're in it?

They need to be smart before they can make this worse than it already is.

At a minimum, turn the child in. Safely.

JMO

IMO, most people who are interested can learn all about international travel and lifestyle from the web. That's why travel is so incredibly popular and easy.

For example, you can learn everything you want/need to know about living in Mexico from youtubers, online forums, blogs, online magazines.

Also, there are very many young people supporting themselves by being Digital Nomads, doing work online that doesn't matter where you are, so they can travel or live in a cheap location.

It's a very popular thing, and these online people extoll how wonderful it is. In contrast, there are no videos on the web extolling how wonderful it is being a lawyer, trying to buy a house in Seattle, etc.

Not to say, it doesn't lose it's luster with time.

JMO