EVERETT — Blue balloons floated above a sea of handmade signs Saturday afternoon — including “Justice for Jonathan,” “Step up Major Crimes,” “Investigate like it’s your family.” A crowd of about 40 people gathered on each corner of Smokey Point Boulevard and 172nd St. NE in Arlington to raise awareness for Jonathan Hoang.
Thirteen days have passed since the 21-year-old went missing, and his disappearance remains a mystery.
Hoang, who is autistic, vanished the night of March 30 after heading to bed at his family’s home in Arlington. He left barefoot, without his jacket or phone. He was last seen wearing a green shirt and khaki pants.
This was highly out of character for Hoang, agreed several family members, educators and neighbors at the protest. He rarely left home without permission, and his daily walks were predictable — always the same route, always on the pavement.
Despite an extensive search effort led by Snohomish County Search and Rescue — involving drones, K-9 units the SnoHawk 5 helicopter and more than 150 volunteers — no signs of Hoang have been found.
On April 7, the Snohomish County Sheriff’s office confirmed the search had been suspended and the case has since been referred to the Major Crimes Unit.
Frustrated by what they see as a lack of urgency, neighbors, educators, parents of autistic children and advocates rallied together Saturday to raise awareness and pressure law enforcement to keep searching.
The protest was organized by concerned neighbors, including Jerry Grisham, who lives a few doors down and has a son with autism. The neighborhood, he said, has become a close-knit community where many people knew Hoang from his daily walks. A private investigator hired by the family has been the only person to interview him so far, Grisham said Saturday.
“None of us have really been talked to by the county sheriff,” Grisham said. “We just haven’t felt comfortable as a neighborhood of what’s transpired from the county. Can we trust the police at this point? We thought if something happened that it would be thoroughly investigated.”
Courtney O’Keefe, spokesperson for the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office, said detectives have found no evidence of foul play or criminal activity, but the investigation remains ongoing. Detectives are reviewing surveillance footage and have conducted an analysis of Hoang’s phone and computer, according to the sheriff’s office. So far, they have found no clues pointing to where he might have gone or why.
“The lead detective is actively following up on all tips and leads, and today, detectives are reviewing additional surveillance footage in hopes of identifying any possible sightings of Jonathan. At this time, there is no evidence of foul play or criminal activity,” O’Keefe said in an email on Friday. “We understand the pain, grief, and uncertainty his loved ones are facing, and we are committed to the same goal—bringing Jonathan home.”
Lindsay Beard, a licensed therapist who works with children on the autism spectrum and has a son with autism, said she attended the rally on behalf of her clients — and out of fear.
“It’s hard not to go, this could happen to any of us,” Beard said.
Beard said Hoang, who is limited in speech and needs support for daily tasks, is particularly vulnerable.
“Vulnerable adults like that are very easy to coerce,” she said. “They have an innocence about them and a beauty of trusting people.”
Madison Taylor, Hoang’s teacher at Weston High, said he’s not the type to wander off.
“They are such an easy target to be victimized — online or just by anyone in general,” Taylor said. “It definitely makes me more nervous for my students.”
Jasmine Klein, a paraeducator who worked with Hoang, added that his absence is deeply felt. “We miss him so dearly.”
The protest was bolstered by Hoang’s sister, Irene Pfister, who has been a constant and public presence since her brother disappeared — coordinating search efforts, managing updates and speaking on behalf of the family. She said her parents initially didn’t want to organize a protest out of fear it would agitate law enforcement. But as days passed with little contact from detectives, that changed.
“We just really want to stress that we’re not angry at the police,” Pfister said. “We just want them to come and fulfill their duties as public servants.”
She said early on, Major Crimes detectives told the family they had other cases, no evidence of a crime and limited manpower.
“They were operating under the assumption he was in the woods and that they would find him,” Pfister said. “They made that determination without considering the family’s perspective.”
She said Weston High School, where Hoang was part of the transitions program, had to demand that someone from law enforcement come speak with staff.
“If a student at your school goes missing — someone who’s vulnerable, who’s endangered — someone should come talk to the people who know him,” Pfister said. “They only spoke to so few.”
Pfister has searched the house repeatedly, hoping for something, anything.
“I’m looking in the dumbest places over and over again,” she said. “I feel like an idiot looking under the beds and in the closets. Where is he?”
Security footage has yielded no sightings of Hoang. The family and neighbors said they’ve reviewed hours of video from the area, with no sign of him leaving on foot.
The family believes something — or someone — may have drawn Hoang out of the house that night.
Pfister said the family’s private investigator has found some promising leads, but said law enforcement has not been cooperating.
“They said they’re understaffed, so we hired someone — and now they won’t work with him,” she said.
She said her mother has had a hard time showering and taking care of herself out of fear she’ll miss a phone call with information.
“We don’t know what happened to my brother. My parents don’t know what happened to their son,” Pfister said. “But on top of that, their lack of communication, their lack of action — it’s been excruciating. More painful than it needed to be.”
In the meantime, the family has refused to give up. They launched a Facebook page to coordinate volunteer searches and have raised more than $24,000 to hire a private investigator.
For those who stood with signs in hand Saturday, the goal was simple: Keep Hoang’s name in the public eye.
“Hopefully this will motivate them to start doing something,” Grisham said. “People care — and this is not just going to go away.”
Those with information about Jonathan Hoang’s whereabouts are asked to call 911.
Aspen Anderson: 425-339-3192; aspen.anderson@heraldnet.com; X: @aspenwanderson.
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