Jonathan Hoang Part 2: Reappearance
The Vanished Podcast
Wondery
4.5 • 15K Ratings
🗓️ 21 July 2025
⏱️ 73 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Last week, you learned about Jonathan Hoang, his quiet and structured life, and how he disappeared from his family’s home in Arlington, Washington, at the end of March 2025. On the evening of March 30, Jonathan asked to sleep in the downstairs guest bedroom because the sound of the treadmill was bothering him. In hindsight, a few details from that conversation were slightly unusual, but nothing raised alarm. By the next morning, everything had changed. His mother went to wake him for school and found that Jonathan was gone. His iPad and headphones were missing, but his phone and jacket, which he never left home without, were still in the house.
Search teams combed the neighborhood and nearby areas. Surveillance footage was gathered from neighbors, but Jonathan was not visible on any of the cameras. No one reported seeing him, and no physical trace of Jonathan was ever found. As time passed, his family began to believe he was not just lost, but that someone may have taken him.
Since Jonathan has autism and is considered an endangered missing person, his family expected law enforcement to treat the case with urgency. Instead, they encountered one obstacle after another. They continued searching, but much of the work fell on them and members of the community who offered support without having access to the tools or authority that law enforcement holds.
At the center of all this is a disconnect. Jonathan’s family is certain he could not have simply walked away and started a new life. He needed daily support and structure. Yet from their perspective, law enforcement seems to have built a narrative that he did exactly that.
This week, we will examine what happened after the initial searches ended, the investigation, the community response, and a recent development that has brought new hope, possible sightings of Jonathan in Kirkland, Washington.
You can follow the family’s search efforts on social media at Help Us Find Jonathan Hoang - Endangered & Missing Person.
A $100,000 reward is currently available for information. If you see Jonathan, please call 911. If you have any information about the disappearance of Jonathan Hoang, contact the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office at 425‑388‑3393 or Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or use the P3 Tips App to remain anonymous.
If you have a missing loved one that you would like to have featured on the show, please fill out our case submission form.
Follow The Vanished on social media at:
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | All of the homeless shelters, places in the area that offer food, we've gone there and we've had people hang flyers, and no one seems to recognize him. |
| 0:19.3 | I don't think he's out on the street. I think he's with someone, |
| 0:21.9 | and I think he has been with someone like we thought the entire time. |
| 0:25.9 | At every turn, it feels like the door's been slammed in your face. |
| 0:29.8 | My dad, I think, has more of a sense of disappointment and helplessness |
| 0:33.5 | and down on his knees begging. |
| 0:35.8 | Why? Someone needs your help. Why won't you do even the bare minimum? |
| 0:40.7 | Or at least show a ounce of empathy, if not to me, to my parents. |
| 0:44.8 | In that meeting with the sheriff's office, they told my parents and I, even a child can get into a car with a stranger and that's not a crime. |
| 0:55.3 | Last week you learned about Jonathan Wong, his quiet, structured life, the routines he relied on, |
| 1:01.5 | and how he disappeared from his family's home in Arlington, Washington, at the end of March |
| 1:05.7 | 2025. On the evening of March 30th, Jonathan asked his father if he could sleep in the downstairs guest bedroom, |
| 1:13.2 | because the sound of the treadmill his father was running on was bothering him. |
| 1:17.3 | Jonathan did end up sleeping downstairs that night. |
| 1:20.5 | In hindsight, there were a few details about that interaction that stood out as unusual, |
| 1:25.2 | but nothing that raised alarm at the time. |
| 1:28.8 | By the next morning, |
| 1:34.4 | the Wong family's world had turned completely upside down. When Jonathan's mother went to wake him up for school and discovered he was gone, his iPad and a pair of headphones were missing along with him, |
| 1:40.0 | but his phone, and more significantly, his jacket, were left behind. He never left home without his |
| 1:45.9 | jacket. Search teams canvassed the neighborhood and surrounding areas. In surveillance footage was |
| 1:51.6 | collected from neighbors, but there was no sign of Jonathan. No one reported seeing him in the |
| 1:56.6 | neighborhood. He didn't appear on any of the camera footage, and not a single trace of him was |
... |
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