Found Safe WA - Seraya Aung Harmon, 2, Pullman, 29 May 2024 *father and daughter went on a fishing trip in Montana but did not return* #2

[Artis]

but she literally packed bags and planned a hoax, instead of just telling them she's not going???

If they planned this, it doesn't add up that Nadia would choose that route of walking out of the airport just before boarding. It drew so much immediate attention which, I'd assume, if they planned to bug out they wouldn't want. BOLO for a good looking 21 year old blonde? No! If it were planned, they would have waited until she got back from Italy and then done it on another 3-4 day visitation which would have given them those days as a head start before anyone knew they were gone. That makes me think it wasn't planned because her disappearance shone a spotlight on them. That brings me back to the possibility of something accidental happening to Seraya and Aaron panicking. But then why that crazy note from his parents delivered to the police station? Could Aaron's parents have done it to try buy some time for Aaron and Nadia to escape (if something awful happened with Seraya)? No, that's doesn't make any sense, either! Why follow up with the insane letter trashing the mother, then? Just from a strategic angle, what would that accomplish?

At first I thought this case was kind of a nothing burger. I've changed my mind.

 

[cobalt sky]

If they planned this, it doesn't add up that Nadia would choose that route of walking out of the airport just before boarding. It drew so much immediate attention which, I'd assume, if they planned to bug out they wouldn't want. BOLO for a good looking 21 year old blonde? No! If it were planned, they would have waited until she got back from Italy and then done it on another 3-4 day visitation which would have given them those days as a head start before anyone knew they were gone. That makes me think it wasn't planned because her disappeared shone a spotlight on them. That brings me back to the possibility of something accidental happening to Seraya and Aaron panicking. But then why that crazy note from his parents delivered to the police station? Could Aaron's parents have done it to try buy some time for Aaron and Nadia to escape (if something awful happened with Seraya)? No, that's doesn't make any sense, either! Why follow up with the insane letter trashing the mother, then? Just from a strategic angle, what would that accomplish?

At first I thought this case was kind of a nothing burger. I've changed my mind.

I agree with your thinking, but I think that her drawing more attention to herself would be the furthest from Nadia’s mind, I think what consumed her thoughts was getting away from her parents before they had a chance to stop her. I am pretty positive that it was planned because she had that crossbody on under her North Face jacket, probably with a burner in it. And the backpack. Who takes a backpack to the bathroom but leaves their cell phone?

I get the sense that until that very day, Nadia had been living her parents’ dream, not her own. We have no idea what life was like for her behind closed doors so I’m not going to judge her behavior at the airport which most agree on the surface was very inconsiderate and even cruel. Sadly she may have felt that was her only option. We really just don’t know these people well enough or their situation to understand their mindset.

Two kids in love with two sets of overbearing parents who “know what’s best for them”…what could possibly go wrong?

 

[katydid23]

Federal & city yes, makes perfect sense. But county and state police as well? While of course we'd all love to see every agency available in every missing child case, it's just not feasable, and I honestly can't recall the last time 4 different LE agencies were all working a custodial interference case. I'm glad they are, but it does stand out.

jmo

I think it might be based upon a couple of issues here---1st, we had the initial report that Nadia was taken from the airport---then that was clear up by the cctv---but it still seemed odd she would 'trick' her parents in that way. Which would make LE suspicious---why the coordinated deceit factor in this situation?

Also, if it was true that Shawna filed a report with CPS about a possible abusive situation, and then the father absconds with the baby---LE HAS to take that seriously. Especially added to the weird circumstance of his girlfriend setting up her parents by leaving them baffled at the airline gate. Literally saying to Mom, 'watch my stuff, I'll be right back' ---

I cannot imagine saying that to my mom, knowing I was about to run off, leaving her shocked and worried for weeks if not months or years?

So I can understand why this is not the usual 'custodial interference case.' Usually one parent keeps the kids for longer than the court papers say----and they have whatever explanation they have to try and justify things, until eventually they have to return them.

 

[OddOneOut]

She is a full-grown adult and college graduate on top of that. She can marry whomever she wants to marry with or without mommy and daddy's approval. That is no reason to abandon her parents (who are gifting her with a 3-week vacation in Italy) at the airport boarding gate and run away without telling them.

Immature. imo

Yet, the Aung family thinks she's just terrific.

jmo

It is hard to appreciate a "gift" if it is the opposite of what you want. She may have wanted this trip for a long time before she met Aaron Aung. Her parents may have seen that the romance was not in her best interest or even harmful to her.

I think someone had this planned out well in advance. I think they had a destination to go to and supplies or a way to get them without calling attention to themselves. In my opinion, they disappeared and have stayed hidden too easily for it to be a spur of the moment decision.

 

[katydid23]

If they planned this, it doesn't add up that Nadia would choose that route of walking out of the airport just before boarding. It drew so much immediate attention which, I'd assume, if they planned to bug out they wouldn't want. BOLO for a good looking 21 year old blonde? No! If it were planned, they would have waited until she got back from Italy and then done it on another 3-4 day visitation which would have given them those days as a head start before anyone knew they were gone. That makes me think it wasn't planned because her disappearance shone a spotlight on them.

I know---it is a conundrum----that's why I have been wondering lately if perhaps AA had asked her to run off with them, but N declined. She didn't want to do that to her family, nor give up on her future career path, etc, ---so she went ahead and packed for Italy-----but maybe he finally convinced her that day, as they communicated on burners, and she knew it was now or never because he was leaving and she might never see her fiancé again unless she immediately took off and met him on the road....

That brings me back to the possibility of something accidental happening to Seraya and Aaron panicking.

I don't think anything bad like that had happened at that point. The trip had just begun. I do worry though as time goes on and the pressure increases and the stressful arguments and 2 year old tantrums mixed with the FBI hunting you down...

But then why that crazy note from his parents delivered to the police station? Could Aaron's parents have done it to try buy some time for Aaron and Nadia to escape (if something awful happened with Seraya)?

That's what I think they were doing. They seemed very pleased with themselves too. IMO

No, that's doesn't make any sense, either!

I agree!

Why follow up with the insane letter trashing the mother, then?

Maybe because they thought it would deflect from them?

Just from a strategic angle, what would that accomplish?

Well, as you said above, it was 'an insane letter' ----so there's your answer?

At first I thought this case was kind of a nothing burger. I've changed my mind.

I am so darn curious to answer some of our many questions.

 

[NCWatcher]

but she literally packed bags and planned a hoax, instead of just telling them she's not going???

We don't know what she told them before that day. I have known people who simply refuse to accept things they don't want to hear and the person telling them may be their adult child.

We don't know what happened within that family IMO. The simplest explanation IMO is not that NC suddenly stood them up and ran away with absolutely NO warning, that everything had been just fine between them for the past 22 years but then that one day...
MOO

 

[katydid23]

She is a full-grown adult and college graduate on top of that. She can marry whomever she wants to marry with or without mommy and daddy's approval. That is no reason to abandon her parents (who are gifting her with a 3-week vacation in Italy) at the airport boarding gate and run away without telling them.

Immature. imo

Yet, the Aung family thinks she's just terrific.

jmo

Exactly. This was not a 16 yr old whose parents disliked her older boyfriend. She didn't have to sneak around and be deceitful in such an extreme way in order to go ahead and marry her fiancé. She could have just declined the offer of the Italian trip in a directly honest way if she really did not want to go. She is a grown up. But what she did was immature and selfish, imo.

Plenty of engaged couples have family members who are not thrilled about the upcoming nuptials. You have to learn to get along or you have to take some space and be more independent if necessary.

 

[katydid23]

We don't know what she told them before that day. I have known people who simply refuse to accept things they don't want to hear and the person telling them may be their adult child.

But her luggage was packed and she rode with her parents to the airport, went through TSA, set her belongings and her phone down next to her mom and literally said 'watch my stuff, I'll be right back' ....

So it is hard to say that her parents just refused to accept their daughter's words or POV, if at the same time their daughter is packing her luggage and going to the airport with them. That sounds like she was not totally honest with her feelings and desires.

Like people saying that NC didn't want to be a lawyer, that was only her parent's wishes. I find that hard to fully believe because NC graduated from University as a pre-law major with high grades. She had to have SOME desire to do so in order to put in all that effort.

[My attorney father wanted me to go to law school and I went to UC Berk , in order to go to law school---but I couldn't go through with that pre law major. Three years in I dropped out to become a ski bum in Sun Valley Idaho.]

We don't know what happened within that family IMO. The simplest explanation IMO is not that NC suddenly stood them up and ran away with absolutely NO warning, that everything had been just fine between them for the past 22 years but then that one day...
MOO

I don't think anyone has said there was absolutely 'no warning.' NC and her parents probably did argue about these issues. The parents probably didn't want her to get married so young, to someone who already had complicated family dynamic,
and was in the midst of a custody battle.

I'm sure they tried to convince her to put off the wedding plans and take a vacation and contemplate her life, etc.

But once she loaded her luggage in the trunk of the family car and took the ride to Sea-Tac,they were relieved--- I'm sure they were shocked when she went to the bathroom at the gate but never returned. IMO

 

[Lilibet]

Like people saying that NC didn't want to be a lawyer, that was only her parent's wishes. I find that hard to fully believe because NC graduated from University as a pre-law major with high grades. She had to have SOME desire to do so in order to put in all that effort.

[My attorney father wanted me to go to law school and I went to UC Berk , in order to go to law school---but I couldn't go through with that pre law major. Three years in I dropped out to become a ski bum in Sun Valley Idaho.]

My husband’s college roommate (U.C. Davis btw ) was told by his parents that they’d only pay for his education if he majored in chemistry. He wanted to major in history, but complied. His compliance may have been cultural (parents were Chinese immigrants). He probably would have preferred to be a ski bum like you!

 

[LadyL]

If they planned this, it doesn't add up that Nadia would choose that route of walking out of the airport just before boarding. It drew so much immediate attention which, I'd assume, if they planned to bug out they wouldn't want. BOLO for a good looking 21 year old blonde? No! If it were planned, they would have waited until she got back from Italy and then done it on another 3-4 day visitation which would have given them those days as a head start before anyone knew they were gone. That makes me think it wasn't planned because her disappearance shone a spotlight on them. That brings me back to the possibility of something accidental happening to Seraya and Aaron panicking. But then why that crazy note from his parents delivered to the police station? Could Aaron's parents have done it to try buy some time for Aaron and Nadia to escape (if something awful happened with Seraya)? No, that's doesn't make any sense, either! Why follow up with the insane letter trashing the mother, then? Just from a strategic angle, what would that accomplish?

At first I thought this case was kind of a nothing burger. I've changed my mind.

lots of questions for sure
but if it wasn't planned, why did she leave her phone with her mother and how did she know to leave from the bathroom without a phone? if she had a burner, that points even moreso to planning

 

[Megnut]

If they planned this, it doesn't add up that Nadia would choose that route of walking out of the airport just before boarding. It drew so much immediate attention which, I'd assume, if they planned to bug out they wouldn't want. BOLO for a good looking 21 year old blonde? No! If it were planned, they would have waited until she got back from Italy and then done it on another 3-4 day visitation which would have given them those days as a head start before anyone knew they were gone. That makes me think it wasn't planned because her disappearance shone a spotlight on them. That brings me back to the possibility of something accidental happening to Seraya and Aaron panicking. But then why that crazy note from his parents delivered to the police station? Could Aaron's parents have done it to try buy some time for Aaron and Nadia to escape (if something awful happened with Seraya)? No, that's doesn't make any sense, either! Why follow up with the insane letter trashing the mother, then? Just from a strategic angle, what would that accomplish?

At first I thought this case was kind of a nothing burger. I've changed my mind.

Just jumping off your post --

IMO BOTH young adults under-estimated the SCOPE of the publicity and investigation that was to come. Perhaps Nadia thought her timing was impeccable, that her parents would board the plane and continue on without her. Three weeks...

The "Montana trip", I'm guessing there was no communication between Aaron/Seraya and Seraya's mother during that time (and none expected because, convenient for Aaron, Montana/camping/offgrid). So realistically, Aaron didn't necessarily begin his disappearing act on the 5th day but quite possibly on the 1st one. 5 day head start. A number of days for Nadia to pack and play along...

So maybe Aaron wasn't waiting somewhere nearby for Nadia so they three could disappear together, into Mexico or wherever.

This was more coordinated than that, especially if the recent raid gives indication.

Aaron could already have been at his final destination with Seraya. All that would remain -- getting Nadia away from her parents and to Aaron. Not a couple and a baby. A single female. And we don't know how she might've caught up. Alone. Accompanied by another female. No one would have been looking for two or three women traveling together. We don't know if there was a combined effort. But somehow they've evaded capture so I think it's worth considering how they may have accomplished this.

For the recovery and safety of Seraya, I remain hopeful that this was an attempt to steal her and raise her with Nadia and NOT flight because something ALREADY happened to Seraya. I admit, I'm fearful.

Please let her be OK.

JMO

 

[Ontario Mom]

FBI is required by federal law to become involved with children under the age of 12 kidnapped. The Lindbergh act.
Moo

The FBI being involved isn't really what stood out to me, it's that so many agencies are actively involved.
I'm glad they are, and hope it means they locate this child and bring her home safely, all the sooner.

jmo

 

[wnk]

The FBI being involved isn't really what stood out to me, it's that so many agencies are actively involved.
I'm glad they are, and hope it means they locate this child and bring her home safely, all the sooner.

jmo

There's a lot of geographical factors involved here that cross different jurisdictions. NC disappeared from Seattle, WA, which is hours from Pullman, WA, and Moscow, ID, where SAH's parents respectively live. Add into that the rumors of trips to Montana and Mexico, and you're needing to cover a lot of area.

 

[sasha17]

There's a lot of geographical factors involved here that cross different jurisdictions. NC disappeared from Seattle, WA, which is hours from Pullman, WA, and Moscow, ID, where SAH's parents respectively live. Add into that the rumors of trips to Montana and Mexico, and you're needing to cover a lot of area.

I don't know if they're still involved but the Fife (WA) police were also involved at one point when they thought Nadia had been there. (That turned out to be a false lead.)

https://twitter.com/x/status/1797766895707553916

 

[Dee-LPC]

I will be shocked if Nadia didn’t abandon her parents at the departure gate out of sheer impulse and desperation ‘to be by her man’s side’ and hold onto her (delusionally bright) future with him. I think it’s true now more than ever that “everyone can keep the lid on their bottle of crazy for a year.” It’ll be so interesting to learn what he said that made an otherwise sensible young college graduate do what she’s done. I think everything that happened was impulsive and done out of survival-mode, albeit with a lot of help from a family of master-level manipulators. I’m beyond fearful about what happened to make this man leave his ‘career’, income, friends and ENMESHED family to conclude that going on the run - for the rest of his life (60+ years?!?) - was the only way to go.

Just my opinion and know I will be more than happy to be wrong. Prayers for this sweet baby girl, her Mom and Grandma.

 

[notafighter]

I am pretty new to websleuths, what do we think the outcome of this will be? This case has gotten quite big publicity, but I know of too many parental abductions that are never solved. Has anything like this ever happened before? A man takes his child and his girlfriend also goes on the run? Her just leaving at the airport is SO bizarre. I definitely wouldn't doubt if it was planned out, but not to full fruition. There must have been something to make AA spontaneously leave at that very moment. What might that be? The Aung family statement tells me they (AA, NC & the Aungs) think Seraya's mother is inadequate to parent Seraya, so much so they think going to Mexico and becoming fugitives is a better option than co-parenting with her. AA being a business manager (if I got that right) and NC being a WSU law graduate make me think they may see themselves with higher class than Seraya's mother. The family statement pretty much cemented that, using photos of her living space and marijuana use to justify taking Seraya. IMO I think AA is likely manipulative, a trait he appears to have inherited from his parents (again, MOO) and NC is a willing follower probably head over heels for him being a young, active father and he makes her feel so mature and adult to play step-mom. They can say goodbye to whatever faux luxurious lifestyle portrayed on her Instagram. All I hope is that Seraya is safe & unharmed, and may she come home ASAP.

 

[Inthedetails]

I am pretty new to websleuths, what do we think the outcome of this will be? This case has gotten quite big publicity, but I know of too many parental abductions that are never solved. Has anything like this ever happened before? A man takes his child and his girlfriend also goes on the run? Her just leaving at the airport is SO bizarre. I definitely wouldn't doubt if it was planned out, but not to full fruition. There must have been something to make AA spontaneously leave at that very moment. What might that be? The Aung family statement tells me they (AA, NC & the Aungs) think Seraya's mother is inadequate to parent Seraya, so much so they think going to Mexico and becoming fugitives is a better option than co-parenting with her. AA being a business manager (if I got that right) and NC being a WSU law graduate make me think they may see themselves with higher class than Seraya's mother. The family statement pretty much cemented that, using photos of her living space and marijuana use to justify taking Seraya. IMO I think AA is likely manipulative, a trait he appears to have inherited from his parents (again, MOO) and NC is a willing follower probably head over heels for him being a young, active father and he makes her feel so mature and adult to play step-mom. They can say goodbye to whatever faux luxurious lifestyle portrayed on her Instagram. All I hope is that Seraya is safe & unharmed, and may she come home ASAP.

My prediction is that the child will be located and I expect her to be returned safely to her mother. I think AA will be charged with the felony of custodial interference, and his family members will be possibly be charged with obstruction.

I don't expect any charges against NC at this point, though I do predict a lifetime filled with drama and unpleasantness if she continues on the path she recently chose (but that's her choice and not a crime).

I have no idea what will happen with custody issues, but I do hope the court system works in the mom's favor as the father has proven untrustworthy at minimum.

jmo

 

[CrimeDawg123]

They can say goodbye to whatever faux luxurious lifestyle portrayed on her Instagram.

You got that right. Living on the run with scant chance of employment, LE all over the parents cutting off any cash flow, a baby confused, living in stress... Y'all happy now?

 

[Ontario Mom]

I am pretty new to websleuths, what do we think the outcome of this will be? This case has gotten quite big publicity, but I know of too many parental abductions that are never solved. Has anything like this ever happened before? A man takes his child and his girlfriend also goes on the run? Her just leaving at the airport is SO bizarre. I definitely wouldn't doubt if it was planned out, but not to full fruition. There must have been something to make AA spontaneously leave at that very moment. What might that be? The Aung family statement tells me they (AA, NC & the Aungs) think Seraya's mother is inadequate to parent Seraya, so much so they think going to Mexico and becoming fugitives is a better option than co-parenting with her. AA being a business manager (if I got that right) and NC being a WSU law graduate make me think they may see themselves with higher class than Seraya's mother. The family statement pretty much cemented that, using photos of her living space and marijuana use to justify taking Seraya. IMO I think AA is likely manipulative, a trait he appears to have inherited from his parents (again, MOO) and NC is a willing follower probably head over heels for him being a young, active father and he makes her feel so mature and adult to play step-mom. They can say goodbye to whatever faux luxurious lifestyle portrayed on her Instagram. All I hope is that Seraya is safe & unharmed, and may she come home ASAP.

There are so many details we're not aware of, it's hard to say what the outcome will be.
Her spontaneous exit from the airport causes a lot of questions for me.
Him being the one who filed for paternity to be established & custody and support issues to be resolved also causes a lot of questions for me.
My hope is, AA & NC realize what a stupid thing they've done (assuming it was a planned event) turn themselves in and face the music.

jmo

 

[huckleberryhound]

Has it been said if Aaron lived with his parents in the home that was searched?