ID ID - Michael “Monkey” Vaughan, 5, last seen near home, Fruitland, 27 Jul 2021 #2

[ReadySet]

IMO, if MV is in a field, it is because someone put him there, not because he wandered there and the searchers missed him.

 

[Turkeytrot]

Wish we had a poll here like we had on Summer's thread (at least at one point.)

Really curious if others think abduction? Wandered off? Met with foul play in the neighborhood?

 

[Kiranerys]

Wish we had a poll here like we had on Summer's thread (at least at one point.)

Really curious if others think abduction? Wandered off? Met with foul play in the neighborhood?

I think he was taken, most likely by someone in the neighbourhood

 

[Allabouttrial]

Wish we had a poll here like we had on Summer's thread (at least at one point.)

Really curious if others think abduction? Wandered off? Met with foul play in the neighborhood?

At this point abduction for me.

 

[iamnotagolem]

I lean towards abduction because it seems like it would have been so easy.

 

[Unalienable Rights]

He disappeared in a very narrow time frame. I'm strongly leaning toward abduction.

 

[carbuff]

I strongly lean toward abduction, but can't rule out accident.

 

[Friday Fan]

I think he was abducted. I don't rule out that he is in an area previously searched because that is the way goes, especially with small kids, it can be hard to locate their bodies.

In Texas where I live, a small child will be decomposed in summer very quickly. We also have vultures and other scavengers year round.

 

[sassyblue]

I thought at first that he wandered away but the searches were so thorough or so it seemed. I don't understand how a child could die in such a small amount of time unless he fell into a canal or waterway.

But here we are months later and he hasn't been found. And all the canals and ditches are empty and they still have not located him in a waterway so unless a farmer finds him this spring then I have to think he was abducted.

 

[iamnotagolem]

I thought at first that he wandered away but the searches were so thorough or so it seemed. I don't understand how a child could die in such a small amount of time unless he fell into a canal or waterway.

But here we are months later and he hasn't been found. And all the canals and ditches are empty and they still have not located him in a waterway so unless a farmer finds him this spring then I have to think he was abducted.

When he first disappeared I really thought maybe he got stuck somewhere and they just didn’t find him but when they kept searching the local area so many times it seems less likely.

Right around the same time Michael went missing a boy in Utah went missing and was found in his toy box.

 

[katydid23]

I am leaning towards abduction too.

I think it is possibly someone he knew in the neighborhood. An older brother or cousin or uncle, of some family where he used to play.

There were many many cars that were seen in the video footage, that were identified as being from the neighbourhood. If MV walked down the street stopping at friend's houses, and a friendly older male offered him a ride to McDonalds or to a park to play ball, I think he'd innocently accept the ride.

There would be no way to prove that after the fact, most likely.

 

[Friday Fan]

Not totally ruled out an older kid, but as for bullying I don't see it. Michael was very young compared to the older kids he sometimes played with.

Plus, Brandi said a lot of the time they would just watch the older kids on their bikes etc. in summer. I don't think Michael playing with the older kids was a frequent occurrence, going on Brandi's interviews.

If he went from house to house looking for kids to play with, I see this as a possibility. His mom said he was always looking for someone to play with.

 

[Colorado303]

Part 3 - Notes from conversation with Brandi Neal and Tyler Vaughan -Moms4Missing YouTube link posted above.

They talked about how the neighborhood has changed. At the time M went missing there was only one ring camera on their street, and not many in the subdivisions. Immediately afterward, people in their 3 city area started buying cameras. Before M went missing, there were always children outside playing and riding their bikes in the neighborhood ("neighborhood" includes 2 subdivisions) but that has changed. BN said that previously, during the school year, they would always see a lot of kids waiting at the school bus stop; now there are parents sitting in their cars at the bus stop waiting until the kids are safely on the bus. 152:35

They were asked if they were aggravated by anything inaccurate that had been reported about them. TV said it was inaccurate when it was said that he and BN were taking donations. He said that they never asked for donations and they have not taken one penny. Any money that has been donated to them has gone into the reward fund. It also bothers him when he hears that he was home alone with M and the baby when M went missing, when actually the two oldest children were also there. 123:14 BN said that is her fault, because she had tried to keep the children out of the spotlight. 129:01 BN said that it bothers her when people say that they let their children run willy nilly and leave them unsupervised. She did say, however, that M had slipped out before through the back door and the garage. The question people ask them that bothers them most is "How are you doing?" They say that they understand that it is human nature to ask, but how do you answer that? 111:06

BN said to go back to the question about things that were aggravating to them, she wanted to comment that it drives her crazy when people say "this is what I would be doing." In her words, "I honestly could never imagine being in our shoes. I could never imagine what a mother is going through, a father is going through, a family is going through, and the continuous...'well, this is what I would be doing, this is what I would be doing' There have been a few times that I have lashed out and said, 'you know what, how in the h---, please, please tell me how in the h--- would you know what you would do, how you would act if every breath, every sigh, every blink you take; if you lick your lips, if you move in a certain way; please tell me exactly what you would do, because you have absolutely no idea what in the h--- you would do, nobody does unless you've actually lived the situation.' And that is a very, very big one to me." 139:20

They touch upon how difficult it has been to have some people accusing them of harming M. BN said that it is not only social media, sometimes it is in person too, but she has nothing to hide so people can speculate. She said that someone walked up to her at work and said "you killed your child." 18:45 She said that there was a local business owner who refused to put M's poster in the window of the business, because they were starting to believe all of the speculation. 20:15 TV said that he doesn't understand how people think he could have harmed M and removed the evidence, all in a few minutes, in front of the other children. 25:26 It is really difficult when it involves the children. BN said that the oldest daughter started her freshman year in high school just one week after M went missing. On her 5th day of school, she phoned her mother from the bathroom at school, crying, and asked if she could come home. She said that some of the kids at school had said that her mom and dad had killed her brother. BN told her she would be right there to pick her up. BN said that her ex-husband's mother-in-law (later she said his mother), who she said is a saint, took charge and went to the school the next day to talk to the principal and teachers and they were very kind and understanding. There hasn't been any problem at the school since then. 89:50

BN says that she reads every single message she receives. She just asks that people please not send tips to her -- sometimes seeing them is very, very difficult. Tips should be sent to the tip line. The police have always followed up when BN and TV have asked them to check out a tip. They even followed up on a tip in Greece. Someone sent two pictures to BN of a little boy in Greece who spoke English with an American accent and looked something like M. The parents knew it wasn't M, but the little boy looked so sad, and looked like he had a black-eye, so they asked LE if they could arrange for someone to check on his welfare. LE followed through and it turned out the the boy was being abused, and he was removed from the home. BN and TV felt good that at least one child had been helped. 118:00

They talked about the Amber Alert -- the police wanted one, but weren't able to get approval. Now that the police are saying it was an abduction, M still doesn't meet the Amber Alert criteria, because in Idaho the alert has to go out within 12 hours and that time is long past. There was a Code Red Endangered Alert for M, which is an opt-in alert, and was something that BN and TV hadn't known about. Many people in the area probably don't know about it, but even still it was received by those who had opted-in, and some of them immediately came to help. When BN arrived home from work, after receiving a call from TV, she said there were about 40 people on their front lawn. Volunteers helped search throughout the night. They talked about some of the changes they think should be made to the alert system when a child goes missing. They think that when a child is reported missing, an alert should go out within 30 minutes and be spread out to other areas over time. For instance, if an alert went out in Fruitland, ID, and the child still hadn't been found an hour later, an alert would go out as far as Boise, and in 2 - 3 hours it would go out to all of the western states. As time passed, the alert would continue going farther until it was nationwide. They have been talking about working on "Monkey's Law." 220:04

What a terrific job you’ve done summarizing this! Thank you!

 

[MoeInVA]

I really don’t know what to think. The police and family did no press for almost 100 days. The police clearly did not think they needed the broader public’s help. Why???

A) they had evidence suggesting (but not conclusive) that Monkey died close to home
B) had a kidnapper making specific demands and threats and they hoped they could keep Monkey alive by staying quiet??
C) tbey had evidence of foul play, hot suspect in neighborhood but still no Monkey. Don’t need outside help. Inside game.

I don’t think police are acting like it’s an abduction out of state.

I don’t think the police are acting like he is alive. I think they found something that was bad news, but it was not enough to confirm with certainty what happened. Jmo

My guess would be a local suspect in the neighborhood took advantage of an opportunity- like @katydid23. My guess is that they found some evidence of local foul play or clothes or destruction of evidence or witness account that was suggestive but not determinant.

I’m still bothered that the police never confirmed the neighbor sightings. Moo

 

[ScorpioRising]

Kidnappings & Missing Persons | Federal Bureau of Investigation

I don’t see him listed here. It states missing & kidnapped. Is it because kidnapping hasn’t been confirmed? It sounds like the FBI is working on this case. Wouldn’t he be listed on their page?

 

[Psychic Sleuth]

Abduction is what I think. I think he was likely taken out of the area. Just MOO

 

[Friday Fan]

I really don’t know what to think. The police and family did no press for almost 100 days. The police clearly did not think they needed the broader public’s help. Why???

A) they had evidence suggesting (but not conclusive) that Monkey died close to home
B) had a kidnapper making specific demands and threats and they hoped they could keep Monkey alive by staying quiet??
C) tbey had evidence of foul play, hot suspect in neighborhood but still no Monkey. Don’t need outside help. Inside game.

I don’t think police are acting like it’s an abduction out of state.

I don’t think the police are acting like he is alive. I think they found something that was bad news, but it was not enough to confirm with certainty what happened. Jmo

My guess would be a local suspect in the neighborhood took advantage of an opportunity- like @katydid23. My guess is that they found some evidence of local foul play or clothes or destruction of evidence or witness account that was suggestive but not determinant.

I’m still bothered that the police never confirmed the neighbor sightings. Moo

I agree. I don't know if they have "evidence," but they may have "hunches"'
Statistically speaking, it was probably someone local rather than someone from out of town.

 

[Allabouttrial]

Welcome @dpgreenhill .

Per TOS we can't discuss the families FB and any other info. on them, unless it comes from MSM or it's an approved interview.

That's not to say that most of us haven't looked though .

 

[dpgreenhill]

Welcome @dpgreenhill .

Per TOS we can't discuss the families FB and any other info. on them, unless it comes from MSM or it's an approved interview.

That's not to say that most of us haven't looked though .

Thank you I'm here because one of my CJ instructors had us watch the killing season.

 

[dpgreenhill]

As I understand Amber alerts they are for child that have be abducted. Not a missing child. Notice Amber alerts usually give information about who was taken and who took them.