Jonathan Hoang’s family is making a desperate plea to help bring him home three months after he disappeared from his house in Arlington, Washington.
Hoang was last seen by his family as he was heading to bed on the night of March 30 at around 7:30 p.m., but the next morning, the 21-year-old was gone. The only other thing missing from his room was his iPad. Jonathan, who is autistic, had just recently learned how to type a text message and does not know how to get around by himself. His family also noted that Jonathan has medications he should be taking.
Following Jonathan’s disappearance, the Snohomish County Sheriff’s office launched a six-day search for him with more than 100 people out surveying the area along with drones and canines. Police say there is no evidence to suggest foul play in Jonathan’s disappearance; however, his family believes he was abducted.
“We are confident at this point in time that he’s been abducted,” his sister, Irene Pfister, exclusively tells In Touch Investigates‘ Kristin Thorne. “We just don’t know who took him or why they took him.”
“It was like he was just ripped out of his life,” she continues. “There’s no evidence that he packed for a trip. There’s nothing that we can find that he was planning to leave. He was just learning how to communicate via text and email. Didn’t know how money worked. Didn’t know how to handle money.”
Pfister says there’s “no way” her brother could have left home “without assistance or coaching or guidance,” as he has never been “away from his family” before. The family is “certain” that someone took Jonathan.
She described her brother as a “homebody” who liked his “safe spaces and places.” Pfister said Jonathan would never leave the house without his comfort item, which is a jacket with a hood. However, in this instance, all of Jonathan’s jackets are still at home.
“We are confident that they got a hold of him on his iPad so that data is really critical,” Pfister adds of the potential he was lured away from his home by someone.
Unfortunately, police said that Apple was not able to ping Jonathan’s iPad and get necessary information due to a lack of cell data. Pfister says the family hired a private investigator and a lawyer to look into the matter but have still been unable to collect information from Apple despite a judge approving a subpoena.
Pfister says that the family has “several people of interest” when it comes to who they think could have possibly taken Jonathan from his home. Police have been adamant that a crime was not committed, therefore preventing them from bringing anyone in for questioning.
“Any information we have, we’re funneling to them,” Pfister says of the police. “We don’t know what they’re doing with it. It’s possible they’re investigating, but they keep saying they’re doing all they can. The detective that is handling the case has still not been out to our home, has still not been out to our neighborhood, has not talked to the neighbors that live near us. How is that doing everything you can?”
Jonathan’s family set up a GoFundMe to collect necessary funds for their continued search efforts.
A reward for finding Jonathan was initially set at $10,000, but a man named Earl Stewart of Lake Park, Florida, decided to add $90,000 to the fund after seeing the case featured on Dateline. The reward now stands at $100,000.
“It’s been really, really, really hard,” Jonathan’s father, Thao Hoang, told Dateline. “I don’t know if we can stand it much longer — but we have to. We need to be here when he’s found, so there’s really no choice.”
The family got a hopeful update in early July when a person believed to be Jonathan was seen on home surveillance footage in Kirkland, Washington.
“This is the best lead and the best hope we’ve had since his disappearance,” Thao said, per Fox 13 Seattle.
Pfister urged people to continue searching for Jonathan and to say something if they have any leads.
“Time is critical,” she said. “If you think you see him, do not hesitate to call 911, to take a photo or a video and to approach them and ask if they are Jonathan.”
