PULLMAN, Wash. (TCN) — An Idaho man allegedly fled to Mexico with his 2-year-old daughter and fiancée after failing to return the young girl to her mother in a custody exchange.
According to the Pullman Police Department, 2-year-old Seraya Aung Harmon was last seen on May 29 with her father, 21-year-old Aaron Aung, and it was believed they were traveling with Aung’s fiancée, 21-year-old Nadia Cole. Cole was seen leaving the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport that same day, and she was reported missing to the Port of Seattle Police Department. Police believed the three of them could be traveling together.
Investigators initially suspected that Aung traveled to Montana because he was observed purchasing camping equipment and a Montana map book in Moscow, Idaho. Investigators later determined Aung and Cole traveled to Mexico in a black Cadillac XTS.
According to authorities, Aung was scheduled to return his daughter to her mother in Pullman, Washington, on June 3, but he never showed up for their custody exchange. Two days later, police obtained a warrant for Aung’s arrest on a charge of first-degree custodial interference.
In an updated release posted Monday, July 8, officers said authorities found Aung Harmon safe at a roadside checkpoint near Santa Ana, Mexico. Local officials detained Aung, Aung Harmon, and Cole, and they were turned over to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Aung remains held in the Santa Cruz County Detention Center in Arizona pending extradition back to Whitman County on his active warrant for first-degree custodial interference. Aung Harmon is in custody with Arizona Child Protective Services, while Cole has been deported back to the United States.