GUARDIAN OF THE MISSING
Where are they?
MICHAEL VAUGHAN
YOU'VE SEEN ME? REMEMBER MY FACE
I didn't vanish, someone took me away from my family.
Where is Michael "Monkey" Vaughan?
Michael was last seen on July 27th around 6:30 p.m. in his neighborhood around SW 9th St & Arizona in Fruitland, Idaho. He was wearing a light blue Minecraft T-shirt, black boxer briefs and blue flip flops.
MICHAEL STORY
FACTS ABOUT MICHAEL CASE
HONDA PILOT
2016-2018
Fruitland Police Department is seeking the public's assistance with the identification of the driver of a white Honda Pilot seen leaving the area on SW8th St. around 6:47p.m. the day Michael went missing.
WHAT HAPPENED ON THE DAY MICHAEL WENT MISSING?
Where was Michael?
Brandi Neal, Michael's mom, was at work on July 27 while Michaels' father, Tyler Vaughan, was watching the kids. Neal said Tyler left the room Michael was in for a brief moment and when he returned, Michael was gone.
"Tyler said he couldn't find Michael," Brandi describes the phone call she got that night. "He was screaming for him. I could hear the fear in his voice. I froze at the moment and my coworker saw me and was like, 'Go!' and I ran. I ran and grabbed my purse and drove as fast as I could here."
As she pulled into her neighborhood that night, Neal saw police and neighbors on the streets and in the fields near her home shouting and searching for Michael.
Michael is friendly and curious boy, Brandi said he rarely wandered off outside by himself. Every time he would go in the front yard, he would be accompanied by a parent or his older siblings. The few times Michael did venture off by himself it would never be farther than the end of their street.
If you know something, say something!
BRANDI NEAL
"Momma heart feeling" "He is coming home"
“I have a feeling someone may have been watching us,” Neal said. “That’s my feeling. That’s my mama’s heart feeling.”
Neal firmly denies Michael’s disappearance was at the hands of someone the family knows.
Neal sleeps on the living room couch just in case one night, there comes a little knock or voice at the front door.
“I know in my heart he’s alive,” Neal said. “I know he is. And I know he’s coming home. He will come home.”
NO AMBER ALERT
WHY?
An army of social media sleuths are working to bring Michael home. They are also calling for the issuing of an Amber Alert.
In Idaho, the first criteria for an Amber Alert are that there needs to be proof of abduction, something top Idaho state officials decided was missing in Michael’s case.
A former FBI agent, Jennifer Coffindaffer
believes Michael is of the very small percentage of kids who are subject to stranger abductions, which according to Coffindaffer is about 4%.
“I believe over 60, 62% of stranger abductions occur right by the residence,” Coffindaffer said.
THOSE RESPONSIBLE FOR NOT ISSUING AN AMBER ALERT FOR MICHAEL VAUGHAN
MEET THEM
TANEA PARMENTER
Idaho AMBER Alert Coordinator Tanea Parmenter
This is the person who refused to issue an Amber Alert for Michael Vaughan. She stated that Michael doesn't meet the Idaho Checklist Amber Alert criteria, even though is suggested. She deactivated her Twitter account after a lot of people asked her to issue the alert for Michael.
RECENT UPDATE
DECEMBER 2021
Investigators say they have searched a remote forested area over 20 miles from where a 5-year-old boy disappeared nearly five months ago.
The latest update for Michael Joseph Vaughan was announced Wednesday from the Fruitland Police Department who says a reward for the boy’s safe return sits at $52,206. Vaughan vanished on July 27 from his Fruitland neighborhood.
Since their investigation began, local authorities, Idaho State Police and the FBI have expanded into ground searches of a remote forested piece of land north of Weiser. The area is at least 20 miles from Michael’s home and around a 25-to-30-minute drive.
Authorities have not said what led them to this area but announced they have received 738 tips in connection to the case.
“Investigators continue to work every lead that comes in,” police say. “We continue to comb through the data collected since July 27 and it is a monumental task, but we remain committed and steadfast in our efforts".
In November the Associated Press reported Michael was likely abducted, according to police. Exhaustive ground searches in a 2-mile radius near the family’s home since July have led to no signs of the missing boy.
UPDATE FROM FRUITLAND PD
The search for Michael Joseph Vaughan
It has been six months since Michael Joseph Vaughan went missing. The Fruitland Police Department, and the FBI have continued to search for 5-year-old Michael Joseph Vaughan continuously since July 27, 2021. We do not yet know what happened to cause Michael’s disappearance. Michael’s information has been shared with law enforcement nationwide. Search efforts have involved local police agencies, professional search and rescue units, and community volunteers, and we’ve searched with helicopters, drones, boats, divers, dogs, and walked step by careful step through fields, river, and canal banks.
Over the last month, we’ve focused on leads that continue to come in from around the Northwest and indeed, the world. Our investigators have covered a lot of ground investigating credible leads to completion with several being actively worked on. Every lead offers a new direction, and we continue to follow them with vigor. The number of leads received is currently 830 with more coming in daily. Our ground searches have been suspended due to winter weather conditions, but if a credible lead sends us to a forest or a field, we will go.
As most of you know, to keep our community updated, the Fruitland Police Department has held multiple press briefings, and we’re grateful to our local media for covering the search for Michael in stories that have been shared nationwide, even internationally. We’ve seen the poster of Michael from the City of Fruitland webpage shared countless times via media and social media. We do ask that the official poster from the Fruitland Police Department and the Idaho Missing Persons Clearinghouse be the poster that is shared as it will consistently share the same information that would be recognizable to law enforcement nationwide. You can find Michael’s poster at https://www.fruitland.org/index.asp?SEC=10B2C17A-DB5A-4256-8B6D-F589F7133F2D .
Tips can be sent to findmichael@fruitland.org or to Crime Stoppers, 343COPS.com. Tips may remain anonymous.
To those who stand strong and continue to support both Michael’s family and the efforts of law enforcement to find Michael, thank you. You’re helping us avoid conjecture and keep the focus on finding this little boy. Please know, while not all investigative efforts can be made public, our focus remains strongly on finding Michael with no stone being left unturned, every option carefully considered, and all leads investigated.
The reward for Michael’s safe return is now $52,860.00. Every donation is appreciated. This fund is being held in an account with the City of Fruitland and has been reactivated until March 31, 2022. The fund is given sunset dates to provide accountability and urgency. If someone has or learns of information that can help find Michael, we want that information now.
This Facebook page is the only source for credible first-hand information in this case. Please continue to follow this page for more updates as they’re available.
Please keep Michael, his family, and the investigators working to bring him home in your prayers. Thank you.
YOU ARE COMING HOME, LITTLE MAN
IF YOU KNOW SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING
