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

[Artis]

Aung the last name seems Burmese (from coworkers who I know who are,)
... as for the other side of the family, not sure if it's Vietnamese or Filipino. Or something else. It's all just a guess by observers on the Internets.

If I didn't know who he was and had to guess I would have said Filipino. Very diverse ethnically and many beautiful people. It would fit how he can look both Asian and Latino.

 

[NCWatcher]

So in the interview, Samara says a few things new and confirmed some to us.

- Samara lived with Aaron before the breakup and would visit his parents or they'd visit for dinners. I guess in Pullman?
- Samara says Aaron is close to his parents
- She also said he would threaten her about his connections could take the daughter away from her
- They had 5/5/2/2 custody. 50/50.
- Samara never met Nadia but remembers Seraya would talk about her.
- Aaron worked at his dad's company.
- They had exchanges at the police station for her security (this is common when custody is contentious)
- Camping claim made no sense to Samara
- Purchases of camping gear/ map of Montana was caught on camera, per Samara
- Samara said he owns or has access to multiple cars
- Aaron no longer has legal representation for the custody case
- She calls Aaron is a germophobe who likes to keep hands clean. Keeps hand sanitizer handy. Washes his hands after going to the park/ playing with dog.
- Samara says his parents left her a handwritten note saying "they may be delayed due to weather, equipment/ supply issues or someone sprained an ankle"
whaaaaaa??!?!?!!?

I'm not defending AA's actions at all. But SH says he's a "germophobe" because he washes his hands, uses hand sanitizer, and washes his hands after going to the park with the dog. Huh? Their relationship must have begun fairly early during the COVID pandemic when it was constantly drummed into our heads to wash hands/use sanitizer frequently. (Remember some people were even wiping down their grocery packages with Lysol type cleaners or wearing rubber gloves when shopping. That was extreme!) And many people do know (or should know) it's pretty easy to pick up intestinal parasites/worms in parks where dogs are allowed so hand washing is a good idea. Frankly, the way she's described his actions don't make him sound like a "germophobe" or make his actions sound at all extreme to me. Hardly a stand-in for the OCD TV character Monk!

Regardless, I can easily see different approaches to hygiene becoming an issue of contention so far as the child's care goes.
MOO

 

[Inthedetails]

Seraya’s bio mom would have had to be involved with him getting her a passport. IMO she would have mentioned a passport when discussing the news of them potentially going to Mexico.

Absolutely. When my then-teenaged son traveled internationally with my husband, I had to sign a form and get it notarized that I, as the mother, consented to my husband taking our son out of the country.

My son told me they never asked to see that document, however, at the airport, fwiw.

jmo

 

[nhmemorymaker]

I'm not defending AA's actions at all. But SH says he's a "germophobe" because he washes his hands, uses hand sanitizer, and washes his hands after going to the park with the dog. Huh? Their relationship must have begun fairly early during the COVID pandemic when it was constantly drummed into our heads to wash hands/use sanitizer frequently. (Remember some people were even wiping down their grocery packages with Lysol type cleaners or wearing rubber gloves when shopping. That was extreme!) And many people do know (or should know) it's pretty easy to pick up intestinal parasites/worms in parks where dogs are allowed so hand washing is a good idea. Frankly, the way she's described his actions don't make him sound like a "germophobe" or make his actions sound at all extreme to me. Hardly a stand-in for the OCD TV character Monk!

Regardless, I can easily see different approaches to hygiene becoming an issue of contention so far as the child's care goes.
MOO

Just sharing personal giggles on my part. Ever since Covid, I have never stopped using sanitize... any time of day every day. I buy the largest containers via Amazon, and have it in my car, laundry room, bathrooms.......

I actually love that it has become a very "cleansing" part of life---- and no colds, flues infections ever!
And have convinced others too!

I imagine he lugs it around with him forever too.
No biggie. Just a few giggles is all.

 

[nhmemorymaker]

Seriously now.... Can any mother imagine going through this..........

As the clock ticked past 12 on this 12th day Seraya has been gone, her mother, Samara, talked about the agony she’s going through.

“It is absolute torture. So please, even when they get on your nerves, love them, enjoy every second with them, because if you had to go a week or 12 days, at this point, without seeing your child, it would destroy you,” Samara said.

The plea to return missing 2-year-old, Seraya Aung, back home

PULLMAN, Wash - The plea to Aaron Aung from Samara Harmon to return her 2-year-old daughter. Seraya Aung was reported missing by Harmon 12 agonizing days ago after Aaron didn’t

www.khq.com

 

[Inthedetails]

I'm not defending AA's actions at all. But SH says he's a "germophobe" because he washes his hands, uses hand sanitizer, and washes his hands after going to the park with the dog. Huh? Their relationship must have begun fairly early during the COVID pandemic when it was constantly drummed into our heads to wash hands/use sanitizer frequently. (Remember some people were even wiping down their grocery packages with Lysol type cleaners or wearing rubber gloves when shopping. That was extreme!) And many people do know (or should know) it's pretty easy to pick up intestinal parasites/worms in parks where dogs are allowed so hand washing is a good idea. Frankly, the way she's described his actions don't make him sound like a "germophobe" or make his actions sound at all extreme to me. Hardly a stand-in for the OCD TV character Monk!

Regardless, I can easily see different approaches to hygiene becoming an issue of contention so far as the child's care goes.
MOO

My hunch is he is fastidious and wants everything to be neat, looking good, feeling clean. I think he's more of a look-neat freak than a germaphobe, based on nothing but a hunch.

We don't know much about him beyond his photo, but you can tell he cares about how he looks. And, honestly, he doesn't look like a guy willing to rough it by camping or living off grid. Yes, that's a superficial assessment.

I am hoping he's not a germaphobe as dealing with a constipated toddler will be an extra challenge. Or, any toddler, for that matter.

jmo

 

[tlcya]

That’s true, with the exception of a few states which don’t allow it felons can and do become lawyers. However the bar association has the right to deny admission based on a determination of “character and fitness.” Some law schools will also deny entry depending on what crime(s) was committed.

So Nadia could have an uphill battle ahead of her.

not to mention having to get through dealing with any charges that may be leveled against her, a trial, possible sentence to be served. She may, in some distant day go on to law school, but it will indeed be an uphill battle and not something she can even think to look forward to any time soon JMO

I don't get it. She had everything going for her. the world was her oyster, laid out at her feet. This poor decision will haunt her.

ETA
(3) A parent or other person acting under the directions of the parent is guilty of custodial interference in the first degree if the parent or other person intentionally takes, entices, retains, or conceals a child, under the age of eighteen years and for whom no lawful custody order or order making residential provisions for the child has been entered by a court of competent jurisdiction, from the other parent with intent to deprive the other parent from access to the child permanently or for a protracted period.
(4) Custodial interference in the first degree is a class C felony.
RCW 9A.40.060: Custodial interference in the first degree.

Even though she's not a parent or relative, by assisting AA in retaining and concealing a child from a parent in violation of a court order. She faces the same potential charges and consequences as he.

 

[PommyMommy]

JUN 10, 2024

TOT GIRL, 2, MISSING AFTER MAN BUYS CAMPING GEAR, MAPS

CRIME Stories with Nancy Grace

www.crimeonline.com

June 3, Samara Harmon drives to the exchange location to pick up daughter Seraya from her father, Aaron Aung. When Aung doesn’t arrive 30 minutes later, he starts to worry. Aung isn’t answering her calls or texts. Harmon reaches out to Aung’s parents, who inform her that Aung planned to take Seraya camping at Flathead Lake, Montana for the week.

 

[momsof3]

FWIW, a criminal background doesn't necessarily prevent someone from getting into law school and/or practicing law in most states. It won't look good, but it's not necessarily an end to that dream (if that was and still is a dream of hers).

Go figure.

https://www.findlaw.com/legalblogs/greedy-associates/can-a-felon-become-a-lawyer/#:~:text=Law%20School%20Education&text=The%20general%20policy%20of%20most,admission%20to%20that%20school%20either.

True, but I had a classmate in law school with a DUI and he got into law school, passed the bar exam but the bar examiners took a little over a year to admit him to the bar as then did an extensive "moral character" analysis because he had the DUI - he jumped through many, many hoops. As a result, since he couldn't practice, he no longer had a place at the prestigious law firm and that dramatically altered his professional career. So yes, she may still have a law career, but it is also likely that it will altered by this "incident." Especially if she is charged criminally.

 

[sasha17]

Absolutely. When my then-teenaged son traveled internationally with my husband, I had to sign a form and get it notarized that I, as the mother, consented to my husband taking our son out of the country.

My son told me they never asked to see that document, however, at the airport, fwiw.

jmo

If Seraya didn't have a passport or EID and they wanted to cross into Mexico with her, I wouldn't put it past them to try to hide her under blankets or something similar. Incredibly risky, but it seems as though taking risks and making poor decisions is kind of the theme here.

 

[Cedars]

Has anyone actually seen them in the Cadillac? With all the tinted windows on cars these days, it is hard to see who is inside a vehicle. Were they seen entering or exiting the Cadillac?

I'm a little confused, was the Cadillac seen entering Mexico or not?

Even if they left with a full tank of gas, they would have had to get gas (plus eat and sleep) multiple times before reaching the U.S./Mexico border; however, no one has reported seeing them?

IMO, FBI got info about them, or one of them, crossing the border, and that record would include the vehicle details (a vehicle is technically being imported and cannot be sold in Mex).

I think, like all LE, they say 'may be in Mexico', because they can't confirm it by an officer looking directly at them, right now, in Mexico.

It is just standards of proof. As someone said, maybe they entered Mex as a ruse and snuck back, or something. The Mexican immigration may have made a mistake, etc.

IMO, LE do not want to make categorial statements about anything that they might have to later walk back on, it would undermine trust in police competence even more.

JMO

 

[tlcya]

MOO the cadilac with plates registered to AA family member was seen crossing the border on video surveilance. But LE/FBI have no idea where in Mexico they might be or if they have left that country since the time the video captured the vehicle and the time FBI/LE found that video. again, no facts or links JMO

 

[slowpoke]

The plea to return missing 2-year-old, Seraya Aung, back home​

“FBI Assistant Special Agent Kelly Smith says these cases become difficult when they go international.

“We are not considered law enforcement in a foreign country, but our position and our world there is to work with that law enforcement agencies to further our mission, and sometimes that’s providing investigative support for a foreign country to help with an investigation there and sometimes that’s requesting support from that country,” Smith said.”

===

I was just reading a news report today about another case where a man who was suspected of killing his girlfriend in Huntington Beach, CA last month was caught as he tried to re-enter the US from Mexico. It made me think of this case, and it gave me some hope of the two countries’ (US and MX) ability to work together at the border in apprehending suspects.

 

[Inthedetails]

I really want to know this little girl is safe. I thought we'd know by now.

jmo

 

[North_Idaho_Nony]

But actually very little about AA, himself.

RSBM

Very true — he remains a mystery. I know he apparently lived here (Latah County) because that’s where the vehicle is registered & it’s this court that established paternity & the parenting plan.

But that’s really all I know about him. It’s very unusual for me to not know someone or their family, or someone who knows them, especially if his father owns a business here. But I’ve got nothing, and it seems even experienced WSers here aren’t coming up with much/anything about AA.

Weird, MOO.

 

[Cedars]

RSBM

Very true — he remains a mystery. I know he apparently lived here (Latah County) because that’s where the vehicle is registered & it’s this court that established paternity & the parenting plan.

But that’s really all I know about him. It’s very unusual for me to not know someone or their family, or someone who knows them, especially if his father owns a business here. But I’ve got nothing, and it seems even experienced WSers here aren’t coming up with much/anything about AA.

Weird, MOO.

There must have been something that drew him and NC together...wouldn't that most likely be the University? Would it be likely for a WSU senior in Pullman to start dating a working guy in Moscow?

JMO

 

[sasha17]

There must have been something that drew him and NC together...wouldn't that most likely be the University? Would it be likely for a WSU senior in Pullman to start dating a working guy in Moscow?

JMO

The two cities are only about 9 miles apart so it's not impossible that they met on a dating app that uses distance away to find matches, through local friends, at a local bar, etc.

 

[Cedars]

The two cities are only about 9 miles apart so it's not impossible that they met on a dating app that uses distance away to find matches, through local friends, at a local bar, etc.

Yes, I guess I meant more that, with her being on a pre-law track that would involve moving far away, she might not have been initially keen on a getting involved with someone so grounded in the local area. There are so many other guys to meet in her academic environment.

Did he perhaps try very hard to bowl her over, having just got out of a serious live-in relationship with a child?

JMO

 

[aggiekel2005]

I find it interesting that NC hasn't already taken the LSAT and applied to law schools if she graduated in May. That means she was planning to at least have break for the fall semester if not the entire year. I wonder how she was going to spend her time (work, intern, etc.) while studying and waiting for acceptance... or at least what she told her parents she planned to do. This was likely her plan all along.

 

[NCWatcher]

Yes, I guess I meant more that, with her being on a pre-law track that would involve moving far away, she might not have been initially keen on a getting involved with someone so grounded in the local area. There are so many other guys to meet in her academic environment.

Did he perhaps try very hard to bowl her over, having just got out of a serious live-in relationship with a child?

JMO

BBM

I've seen several posts saying she'd had to move far away to go to law school. Well, maybe. But Washington does have 3 ABA-accredited schools and Idaho has 2. So if she didn't want to move away, she likely wouldn't need to.
MOO