“I just want to hold my baby again,” missing four-year-old’s mother prays son will be found safe | News
YAKIMA, Wash. – Monday Yakima’s gray and rainy weather reflected the emotions looming in the air as the search for missing four-year-old, Lucian Munguia, entered its second full day.
The Yakima County Sheriff’s Office is now taking the lead on searching for Munguia and investigating all possible leads alongside the Yakima Police Department.
YPD Patrol Division Captain Jay Seely said they can’t only focus on one possibility because they don’t know what happened to him.
“We’re looking at all aspects of this as far as maybe he’s just missing and hiding in the brush to maybe something drastic has really happened,” Captain Seely said.
Lucian Munguia was last seen Saturday evening playing with his older brother at Sarg Hubbard Park. He and his brother were rolling down a grass hill by the playground when his older brother couldn’t see him anymore.
Lucian’s dad called the police after frantically searching for him for 15 minutes.
Lucian Munguia was last seen wearing a shirt with sharks on it, blue shorts and black sketchers. He also has long hair. His mom Sandra Munguia said Lucian is autistic and likes the water.
With that lead, YCSO said searches have focused along the Yakima Greenway and the Yakima River following beside it.
YCSO said just about every resource has been used. Six Counties including Spokane County, Kittitas County, Klickitat County, King County, Pierce County Moses Lake Fire Department and the US Airforce have all put in resources to help find him.
Search teams are using kayaks to search the Yakima River, drones, ground teams, a bloodhound, cadaver dogs, all terrain vehicles, submergible drones and more.
Camp Hope residents have also volunteered to help search because the path runs behind their camp and many of them know it well. Camp Hope volunteer Heather Lyczewski said the people living at the camp take situations like this seriously.
“Most of us have a mother or father, are a mother or father so we know how terrible this incident could be,” Lyczewski said.
Monday the search focused on the south side of the greenway after reports that Lucian was seen going that way.
Sandra Munguia said she doesn’t think her son would hide this long and she believes he was kidnapped but she doesn’t have any proof. If he was taken, she asks that the person do the right thing and bring him back.
“If someone did, just let him go, bring him back to the park where he went missing, Sarg Hubbard or Kiwanis, his favorite park,” she said. “We just want him back home and safe. I just want to hold my baby again.”
If you see Lucian Munguia, his mom said he will respond to his name or if you ask him if he wants to go ‘bye bye in mommy’s new car.’
YPD is asking that tips be called into 911. There was also a party going on at Sarg Hubbard on Saturday. YPD is asking if you were at that party or at Sarg Hubbard between 6:30 pm and 9:00 pm on Saturday and took any video or pictures that may have caught Lucian in the background to email them to [email protected].