Case of 4-year-old Yakima boy missing for more than three weeks an outlier, missing child experts say.
YAKIMA COUNTY, Wash. — Washington State Patrol has a list of at least 49 juveniles missing out of Yakima County and while most of them fall under the “runaway” category, they are still considered missing children.
“We’re very careful about minimizing that,” WSP missing person alert coordinator Carri Gordon said. “The fact that they’re a runaway – that doesn’t make them any less missing and it doesn’t make them any less juvenile.”
However, the most prominent missing child case in Yakima County isn’t that of a teenager running away to try to escape problems at home or due to mental health concerns: it’s that of 4-year-old Lucian Munguia, a little boy who vanished without a trace.
Missing Yakima boy’s case is out of the ordinary
It’s been more than three weeks and there’s still no sign of Lucian, who disappeared from Sarg Hubbard park in Yakima on Sept. 10, 2020 – leaving the family heartbroken and a community worried about their own children.
Experts with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s and from WSP’s missing person unit, said cases like Lucian’s are definitely not the rule, but the expectation
“Cases where there’s no information about an abduction, you know, no suspect information, nothing,” Gordon said. “It is very safe to say that that is less than less than 5%.”
However, Alan Nanavaty, the executive director of the missing children division of NCMEC said there are accidents and crimes that can happen to kids with even the most vigilant parents.
Prevention strategies can reduce risk of children going missing — but it’s never a guarantee
“Unfortunately out there, there’s people out there that are looking to do children harm by meeting up with them, potentially abducting them or enticing them into … gang recruitment, sex trafficking, human trafficking and other other areas of risks,” Nanavaty said.
Nanavaty said that’s why it’s so important to speak with young children about things like what to do if they’re approached by a stranger and to speak with older children about the risks of communicating with strangers on social media.
While parents should be clear about their expectations for their kids’ online behavior, including what websites and apps they’re not allowed to use, experts said kids’ ability to trust they can ask questions without judgement is paramount to their safety.
“What you really want to do is provide them guidance and help them through it, versus basically scolding them for being somewhere they shouldn’t,” Nanavaty said.
NCMEC has a wide range of resources available for parents and their kids on its website, missingkids.org.
In missing child cases, calling 911 quickly and keeping public interest is key
Gordon said if parents do find themselves in a situation where they lose track of their child, perhaps at a grocery store or local mall, they should call 911 immediately — even if it turns out their kid was just in the next aisle over.
“I was a dispatcher, 911 call taker for 17 years and I can honestly tell you that you are not burdening anybody by calling 911 if your child is missing,” Gordon said. “Always call.”
If the unthinkable happens and a child goes missing and stays that way, Nanavaty said persistence in getting their name, photo and other identifying information could be the key to getting a new tip that leads to a child being found. He said it’s important not to give up hope
“The more the public is involved and reminded and engaged, that’s where we see some very positive outcomes,” Nanavaty said. “Nothing is stronger in helping for a safe recovery than making the public aware.”
Tracking missing juvenile cases between jurisdiction a major roadblock
Gordon said it’s hard to keep track of how many children are missing when so many agencies are involved in that tracking to a certain degree.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children shows just two active alerts in Yakima County, for 4-year-old Lucian Munguia who disappeared three weeks ago from Sarg Hubbard Park and 15-year-old Ramon Reyes, who went missing Sept. 4, 2022 from Selah.
However, the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System doesn’t include either of those children, but includes three other names:
- Janice Hannigan, who was just 15 years old when she disappeared in March 1971 from Wapato.
- Linda M. Adams, who was just 15 years old when she disappeared in June 1978 from Yakima.
- Roland Jack Spencer III, who was just 3 years old when he disappeared in May 1984 from Toppenish.
Additionally, the state patrol’s missing children page only includes two cases with kids missing out of Yakima: Sydney Hartley, a 15-year-old missing since April 2022 and Talan Goggles-Obendorf, a 15-year-0ld missing since August 2022.
Gordon said the number is limited because they only put a child’s photo on the site if the family requests it. However, their internal system contains the names of all juveniles reported missing across the state.
WSP also maintains a list of missing indigenous persons that’s updated monthly. Currently, more than a dozen teenagers and children are missing from the Yakama Reservation, including:
- Nellie L. Owens, 12, missing since March 15, 2022
- Evae Baeza, 13, missing since May 11, 2022
- Clene N. Tahsequah, 13, missing since Aug. 29, 2022
- Zain Chapman-Pratt, 15, missing since July 23, 2022
- Tayera L. Cloud, 17, missing since Sept. 30, 2022
- Erik K. Cloud-Washington, 16, missing since Sept. 14, 2022
- Marina Headdress, 16, missing since May 4, 2022
- Destiny L. Johnson, 16, missing since Sept. 9, 2022
- Alisha Montez, 16, missing since Sept. 28, 2021
- Tyler Star, 16, missing since Sept. 24, 2022
- Alberta F. Stahi, 17, missing since May 11, 2022
- Lashawnda D. Wahsise, 17, missing since June 4, 2022
- Clayton Gibson Jr., who is 19 but was a juvenile when he was reported missing June 25, 2021
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