Hidden True Crime - MISSING: 5-year-old Michael "Monkey" Vaughan's Christmas Miracle (Interview with Brandi Neal, His Mother)

Episode Date: December 24, 2022

On December 23rd, 2022, Hidden's Lauren Matthias and the Neal/Vaughan family hosted Monkey's Christmas Miracle, where gifts and treats were donated from the community and Hidden's listeners, the Hidden Gems. Over 400 presents were donated to the Fruitland and Payette, Idaho community! (Photos on our social media sites...) Five-year-old Michael "Monkey" Vaughan has been missing since July 27, 2021, from Fruitland, Idaho. Lauren speaks with his mother Brandi to learn more about the case, how the public can help, raise awareness, and perhaps identify the owner of a vehicle that police are trying to track down. This Facebook page is mentioned during the interview. Please join for more information, posters, and photos to help spread the word about Michael's disappearance: https://www.facebook.com/groups/52452... TIPS: Fruitland Police Department: 208-642-6006 LAUREN MATTHIAS has worked as an anchor and reporter for ABC, NBC, and FOX News in East Idaho, Boise, Idaho and Salt Lake City, Utah. She spent a decade reporting on a diverse range of topics from high profile crimes to Presidential visits. In 2015 she received the Idaho State Broadcaster’s Association Best Reporter award for a short documentary on LGBTQ rights. She recently left the reporting world to produce and edit, Hidden: A True Crime Podcast along with her husband Dr. John Matthias, a forensic psychologist. HIDDEN: A TRUE CRIME PODCAST is: CRIMINAL PSYCHOLOGY REINVENTED. Join us on a journey into the darkest recesses of the human mind and the unconscious motivations that drive human behaviors in order to understand the world and ourselves. Pull up a chair at our dinner table as a forensic psychologist and a journalist, who are husband and wife, delve into the psychological facets of unthinkable crimes. WEBSITE: https://hiddentruecrime.com/ Apple podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/hiddentruecr... YouTube Channel: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCBp03t... We appreciate help from our listeners. Your support help us produce these podcasts. We have some big plans to explore the true crime terrain in a way that no one else has attempted. TO SUPPORT: https://www.patreon.com/hiddentruecrime or https://paypal.me/hiddentruecrime Let's see how far we can go together to reinvent the true crime genre! THANK YOU Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Our Sponsors:* Check out Acorns: https://acorns.com/HIDDENTRUECRIME* Check out Acorns: https://acorns.com/HIDDENTRUECRIME* Check out Armoire and use my code HIDDENTRUECRIME for a great deal: https://www.armoire.style* Check out Effecty and use my code HIDDENTRUECRIME for a great deal: https://www.effecty.com* Check out Happy Mammoth and use my code HIDDENTRUECRIME for a great deal: https://happymammoth.comSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/hidden-a-true-crime-podcast1836/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lately, I've been trying to be more intentional about what I wear, intentional about everything, just choosing pieces that feel effortless, still put together, timeless, but also not overthinking it every morning. It's why I keep going back to quince. Their pieces just make getting dressed easier and I feel so classy. I feel elevated. The fits are flattering. The fabric is really high quality. Everything is wearable day to day. I actually got this really, beautiful yellow V-neck midi dress from them, and I paired it with some Italian leather sandals. It's one of those outfits that just works. It feels polished but still comfortable. It's exactly what I've been looking for. What surprises me, though, is the quality for the price. Quince uses

premium materials like European linen, organic cotton, but they cut out the middleman. So everything is priced way lower than you'd expect. Refresh. your every day with luxury you can actually use. Head to quince.com slash hidden true crime for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. That's quince, quince, q-u-in-c-com slash hidden true crime for free shipping and 365 day returns. Quince.com slash hidden true crime. This interview with five-year-old Michael Vaughn's mother, Brandy Neal, took place a year ago, December 2021. Today, Michael, also known as Monkey, is still missing. Fruitland police say they have four suspects that they believe are responsible for Michael's disappearance,

and a yard nearby Michael's house was searched. Police say they are looking for Michael's remains and they don't believe he is alive. The suspects are strangers to the Neil Vaughn family, and at this time, no charges have been brought forward in the kidnapping of Michael Vaughn. As the family continues to wait for answers, this holiday season, Michael's family requested one thing. Michael loved giving gifts, and they wanted to give the children in Michael's community gifts from Monkey. On Friday, Hidden True Crime was in Fruitland, Idaho. And with the help of our Hidden Genes, this incredible Hidden True Crime community,

over 400 gifts were handed out in Michael's name to needy children in Fruitland. If you want to share in Monkey's Miracle Project, head to our YouTube channel, Hidden True. crime. We begin this interview with a song sung by Michael's grandfather. Let the blue light signal shine a light for a monkey. Show him the way back to family. When his nightmare started, he was innocent and free. Now he's somewhere. where he shouldn't be.

You're a mother. A four, yes. A four. Yep. Two girls and two boys. Two girls and two boys. Can I ask their ages? 15, 12, five, and two. Five and two. Do you have your hands full? I do very much so.

Tell me a little bit about why we're talking today. If you can, tell me a little bit about your little boy, Michael or monkey. I love that nickname. It is the sweetest nickname what five-year-old isn't a monkey. He has been since day one, constantly climbing, just going all the time, nonstop. And even when he was born, he was trying to roll over at four days. So he's like, oh, my gosh, he's just a little.

monkey and it is stuck with him the entire time. I want, I'm here to talk about Michael. I want people to hear about him, hear about his story. I want him home. He's missing. He's gone. Yeah. He went missing. How long has it been now? 171 days. July 27th was the date? Yep. 2021? Correct. You're in Fruitland, Idaho. Yes. Your little five-year-old boy has been missing, as you said, for a very long time since July 27th.

Can you take me back to that day when he went missing? Can you tell me what happened? I got up that morning. Monkey was laying on the couch. He was playing the Nintendo Switch. I had to be at work at 12.30 p.m. that day. That was my eighth day of work straight. I had started a new job. Tyler and I were working opposite schedules in getting it worked out. He had worked at that job for a few months prior. Monkey didn't want me to go to work.

He wanted to play because we're always outside. It's summertime, and we're always outside. He loves being outside. And that's what we do when I don't work is we're outside doing something at all times, whether it's camping, going to the park, playing football in the backyard, digging in the dirt. Rhode Island, Idaho is a great place to do that, too. Yeah, it is. Right on the border of Idaho and Oregon, right?

Yep. And there's lots of different places, Oregon and Idaho, to go and do all these wonderful things. I went to work, was working my shift. I went to my lunch at about 4 o'clock. And I called because I call always on my lunch break, you know, check on the kids, check out, everybody's doing. It's a handful when you got four kids by yourself. Yes. So Tyler was home with all the kids.

And he's monkey's dad or his, he's, he's. So Tyler is Michael and Bagi, that's Aria, our two-year-old, their biological father. Okay. Kira and Benjamin are from my first marriage. You have a, what is a blended family, an all-American blended family? Yes, ma'am. Tyler and I have been together for over seven years, so he's been a big part of, you know, he's helped me raise them. Okay.

So he's like a dad to all four of them or a father figure at least. Yes. Yes. But Tyler is Michael and Arias biological father. Okay. Okay. I called. It was just a short, quick call, you know.

How's everybody doing? Oh, we just came inside. We've been playing outside all day. Monkey's sitting on the couch playing the switch. And Buggy just went down for a nap. And I said, okay, you know, I'll see you guys tonight. and told Monkey I'd be home to tuck him in because I tuck even my 15-year-old, I still do it. Good mother.

I told him that I'd see him tonight and that I loved him. And he said, I love you too, Mama. And I told Tyler I loved him and that I would see him later that night. And I got a phone call, which is odd. because I typically I don't really answer phone calls but it was from Tyler and it was at 705

I thought it was 704 but it was 705 which was odd I'm like okay what happened and he said he couldn't find Michael and I was dealing with a customer at that moment and it's

you know I don't answer my phone when I'm at work, but it was Tyler. And obviously, yeah, if he's calling me in the middle of my shift, there's something going on. Right. Otherwise, he would have just sent a text. Right. He said, I was like, what do you mean? You can't find Michael.

And he's like, I can't find him anywhere. Like, I've looked through the house. He was yelling his name. He was looking outside. And I was dealing with, not difficult. but a very specific kind of customer. And a way to say it, yes. Yeah.

So I just put my phone in my pocket. I left Tyler on call, you know, in my pocket. I had a meet code on. And I got done dealing with the customer. And I, sorry, no, I picked it up in the middle of talking to the customer too. And I was like, well, did you find him yet? and it was pure panic, pure fear. And I panicked.

And I set my phone down. One of my coworkers walked by, and I'm still trying to deal with this customer. And she, are you okay? And I was like, please go get my coworker, the butcher, you know. He was out having a break. And I said, I have a family emergency. And at this point, I get, I get, completed with the customer. And I walk into the office and he comes in and he's like,

what's going on? And I said, Tyler can't find Michael. And I just kind of like stood there for a moment. And Tyler's still on the phone. And I just kind of froze. And my coworker was like, go. And I ran. I ran. I ran to the locker room. I grabbed my purse. I ran out the store. I ran to my vehicle and I drove as fast as I could here and come. And come and into the neighborhood at the park. I saw a cop car at the park. How far away is your work to hear? Um, so I work and pay at Idaho. Okay. And I live in Fruitland. And typically it takes about 13 minutes to get to and from. Okay. I got stopped at a red light at Gayway. And if anybody drives in Idaho, that's that light takes forever. You always are sitting there.

There's a lot of traffic through there because if it goes towards Ontario Oregon and Ontario Oregon's pretty big right okay that makes sense so there's a lot of traffic through that area and I got home I didn't even park I kind of just threw it and park in the middle of the road Tyler was talking to a police officer and dad Tyler's dad grandpa had just gotten home like a few moments before me a pair of He had been out getting a haircut and, you know, doing grandpa stuff for the day. Went and visited some friends and got home and was met with everything that was going on. And dad drove out into the field down the road into the field just to look.

And neighbors were out and I drove down to the splash pad. Asked a couple ladies that were there. And I didn't even get to ask them. They said we haven't seen a little boy. And I was like, you haven't seen a blonde-haired blue-eyed little boy come down here. And they said, no, you know, we haven't seen him at all. And I think I drove, it's, it gets blurry. I can imagine.

I drove up, back up into the neighborhood. I drove down to the end of ninth. And I was, you know, screaming Michael's name. People were coming out and asking what was going on. And then there were people. people on their four-wheelers, ATV, like just side-by-sides, cars. I think at 817, I called my boss, and I was like, I can't find him. I can't find my baby.

I don't know what to do. And she was here in a heartbeat. Take your time with her. It's okay. Hi, sweet girl. Can you say hi? Hi. Hi.

And Susie doesn't have a little. No touching. Okay, go with Sissy. Daddy will be home in a minute. If you need to hold her, it's okay. Whatever you need. You know I sit over here with Mama? Well, thank you, Mommy.

You're welcome, Buggie. Thank you. You're welcome. Hi. Hi. It's adorable. This buggy? This is buggy.

Yeah. It's such a cute. What are you? I'm saying. This is my oldest. This is Kira. This is Lauren. Nice to meet you.

Am I saying that properly, Lauren? Yeah, you are. You are. Yes. I called Kira. She had went to a, yeah. She had went with a friend. They had picked her up while,

Tyler was looking for Michael. Panicked, I had to know where all of them were at that moment. I needed to know they were safe. Yeah. We were speaking with police. Idaho Mountain Search and Rescue was here. It was definitely when it got dark, because I remember when it started to get dusk,

I panicked. Panicking to Kira, the detective. like it's getting dark. Why haven't we not found anything? Seeing them come in and why are they here? Why are the ambulances here? And they were just here to help. So in other words, all the town came together to kind of,

nobody really understood why he was missing. It was as many bodies as we can get out there. Let's start looking for him. There were people from New Plymouth, Peyette, and Ontario, Oregon. The streets were covered, cars, people everywhere. The park, the fields, people were out with flashlights and when it got dark. Even before it got dark, the streets were covered in people and families, kids on bikes, people putting their kids in strollers and just screaming.

his name. How big is the town of Fruitland? A little over 5,000. Okay, so I'm sure the word was spreading quickly. It's a close-knit town and so people volunteers were out. Yeah, everywhere. And at this point, you're realizing, you know, when you first hear your child's missing, I'm sure there's a panic, but it's going to be okay. And now at this point, what are you feeling? to this day? At this moment, sorry, that day, that day, that night, as it's been hours. You know, you heard the phone call at work, and now you're home, and it's been hours. What are you thinking?

Somebody took him. I didn't believe that he just wandered off and got hurt or got stuck into something. There was no way with the amount of people that were here immediately. and continuously through the night that, especially when it hit dark. Did everybody else seem to understand that, too, that was helping you look, or were there some people that thought he might have wandered off? There was a lot of people that thought he might have wandered off. I mean, there's a lot of fields.

There's a lot of irrigation canals and everything like that. But Michael is very familiar with the hazards of irrigation canals. house. He's never been out in the fields. He's never wandered out in the fields. Honestly, if he would have wandered anywhere, he's attempted once to get to the park by himself. And that was because he overheard his big brother going. And this was a little over a year and a half ago, I want to say. But he was caught wandering down. by grandpa and his grandpa was coming home and he hadn't been out by himself out front like that. Yeah.

When he's five, you know, five, you're five years old. You're a little bit more aware of the dangers. It's not that he was, he wasn't two. He wasn't, you know, your buggy's age. So you sense this as his mom that someone took him. Honestly, within the first hour that I was home when I called my boss, I had that panic. I had that panic because we should have been able to find him. He wouldn't have gotten that far, not in the time frame that with Roman Tyler was watching or changing buggy because she woke up from nap to smoke a cigarette and order pizza.

Michael's not in the backyard playing. Michael's not in the living room. He's nowhere in the house. He's not on our street. When Tyler, you know, was yelling for him, he couldn't have gotten that far. He was in flip-flops. I had just bought in those flip-flops for him three days prior

because he kept putting mine on. And so I was at work and I seen him and I was like, oh, perfect. They're his size. Awesome. So he was just learning how to walk in flip-flops. A milestone, right, a summer milestone. And you know when they first are learning how to walk and flip flops, it's not really walking. It's kind of their, you know, scooting wrong.

Yeah. So what was everybody else saying, outlooking? They couldn't believe we weren't finding him. You know, is there a friend's house he would go to or, you know, where did you last see him? Right, right. And at this point, I'm sure your entire neighborhood and everyone that knew him knew that he was missing. Yeah. What law enforcement were out looking for him at this point? Fruitland PD was here. Okay. Payette, pay it. Forgive me when the time is because it all kind of went into each other. But we had Boise Police Department.

Garden City, Weezer, Payette County, or Payette Police Department, Fruitland Police Department, Star. Right by Boise? Yeah. So we had a lot of law enforcement, surrounding law enforcement here assisting Fruitland PD. Okay. The fire department, Fruitland Fire Department, the EMTs. St. Luke's the St. Luke's

I don't know, it's their helicopter that transfers a light site. Yeah, yes, was out searching the fields. It's a helicopter even. People with drones, community members that had drones. I think the Sand Hollow Sand Hollow Fire Department had brought theirs out. Boise Police Department, I believe, brought theirs out also. Was there an Amber Alert done that night?

No, there was not. The Fruitland Police Department did try to get one issued, but there are six criteria. and they apparently are suggested criteria. They are not mandatory, but suggested. Right. One of the ones that Michael did not meet was that there was a known, a vehicle or abductor.

And two was that it was unknown if he was abducted. which is interesting because when children disappear without a witness that's why they're missing you know it's not known what happened exactly um he did meet the requirements of them attempting within 12 hours to get one uh he was entered in the ncic um basically um when he was entered into that every police department in the United States would know if Michael was found where he belonged. Okay. So that goes out, my understanding from what they told me that night, that every law enforcement agency would have the picture of Michael, his information, where he went missing from. That's one of their suggested, uh,

requirements, I guess, rules. He was within, I want to say, two and a half hours after Michael was known to be missing. To be, another one was to be known in intimate danger for possible death. Right. He's five. I was just going to say he's a five-year-old who's alone. Right. There were four endangered missing persons alerts put out for him.

One, I believe the first one was 820 and the last one I want to say was around 1130 p.m. that night. It's called Code Red and it goes out via text message, email, phone call. but the thing is, is it's an elected app or you have to be signed up to get that alert. It doesn't go out to every person's phone in the area, like an Amber alert would do. No. So it did start out in our local neighborhoods around, and then they spread it out. like county or like city then county I'm not sure what the last how far the last one went

but like I said you have to be signed up to get that there were you know lots of people on our front yard and when one of the alerts did go out there were some police officers that didn't even get it Tyler and I didn't get it and finding out later So yes, it can be an effective tool, but I do not believe it could have been, it was effective as an amber alert would have been. So looking back, are those things that sounds like you're very disheartened by that that will happen that night. Yeah, I'm on a mission about that one.

Okay. To change the Amber Alert, tell me about what you hope with that mission. The suggested criteria suggested. I believe, honestly, law enforcement should be able to use that at their discretion. If they believe that a child has been, you know, the extensive searches have gone on and no sign. What harm is it going to do to issue an Amber Alert? you're right to find out there's a missing child on my phone i never i never have an issue with that with that showing up on my phone right you know and i there has been talk about um

people becoming desensitized to it because if we issue an amber alert for every time a child goes missing and say they're only missing for three hours or whatever i i i don't i in my opinion that's i i i wouldn't care my phone can blow up all damn day the phone Sorry. Yeah. But knowing the extensive searching that had already been done, what was the harm in issuing an Amber Alert for him? Right. Right.

And at this point, he'd been missing how many hours, too? You were looking into the night. Tyler and I didn't stop. I know Idaho Mountain Search and Rescue. It was two, three o'clock in the morning. There was community members still out four or five o'clock in the morning. It was about 7 o'clock. What time did you have practice that morning?

Eight. Eight. The Red Cross helicopter was flying around the field by, I want to say, 7.30 a.m. 8 o'clock. And you and Tyler didn't stop. You just kept. How do you stop, right? I mean. Haven't yet. It's freezing and still. I know he's not here, but what else can I do?

When you say you know he's not here where you think he is right now, what do we know now? Law enforcement saying that there's a possibility that he's been abducted. I believe, and I know that he's been abducted because there's been so many searches. There's been so many resources used. Tell me what else has happened. what could what he didn't you know just vanish into thin air he didn't fly away i mean right the canals have been searched you know yeah the canals they had divers in some of the bigger canals um i remember um

at the end of our street there's there's a pretty big canal and it has a lot of overgrowth and it's pretty fast moving a lot of the farm fields feed into that one. And we were out front. We lived in our front yard for months. There were fire trucks and ambulance and looking at the, you know, looking down the road and what is going on? Like, why are there sirens going off? So I walked down there. And, you know, there's a lot of FBI agents. There's law enforcement. And the one FBI agent walked up and he's like, you really, you really shouldn't be here. And I'm like, the hell I shouldn't be here.

Like, and I sat my ass down and my sister, apparently I wasn't breathing. And I was watching them put their dive stuff on. And then one of the firemen pulled this big hook thing off the fire truck. And I almost threw up right there. And I had to get up. So my sister-in-law brought her vehicle down. We kind of sat there and waited. And there were people watching and just watching their body language and everything.

It just didn't find anything, but just the thought, you know, what if he was? You know, what if, yeah. I will never forget that feeling for the rest. He hasn't been found in the water. He hasn't been found in any fields. He hasn't been found by helicopter. Has anybody seen anyone suspicious? Did anyone see anything that day? Any person? Not as far as I know. They have identified almost 400 vehicles, I want to say.

That went by? That were in the area. If I remember correctly, what I was told that every 30 seconds, a car passes through on 8th. and that is a that is the only way to come in and out of the neighborhoods is coming on eighth you can come off Whitley or the highway into eighth

but there's unless you're using a farm road there's there's not over the farm roads no there's not maybe they've identified where all those vehicles were where they were going

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They don't say they're persons of interest. I do know that there is a white Honda pilot that has yet to come forward. Okay. Something they caught on a surveillance. Yeah. So there is how they were able to. figure out where all these vehicles were. And they did a roadblock, too, at one point, finding out where everybody was going,

how many people were in the vehicle, what address they lived at. There's CCTV cameras coming in, and that's how they were able to catch those vehicles. Unfortunately, can't get it clear enough to see license plate numbers, but they're pretty damn good detectives, I tell you what. And then there was a man with a white shirt and black shorts, dark facial hair, dark hair, walking through the park down

and to the canal area behind the park. Oh, wow. Has his photo been released, even if blurry? No. No. Under my impression, impression is that he was walking away from our neighborhood, not towards the time when Michael was missing. Okay.

So I don't know, I don't know all the details on that. It is an ongoing investigation. And they're probably not, they're probably telling you a lot, but not everything. Exactly. Yes. And that's understandable. A white Honda pilot though that has not been identified. And to explain the geography and where your house is Fruitland is sort of, as you kind of

point out, you worked in a different city and you can drive through there and it's on the way to Oregon, onto Ontario. Is that right? Could have been someone passing through then possibly? Possibly. you can get where we live we live on kind of the outskirts of fruitland the farther you get going towards the freeway the off ramps on and off ramps you can go towards Oregon or you can go towards Boise there are back roads that you can go follow through

to like New Plymouth and you can go you can get to Boise from New Plymouth you can you could easily be on the highway and be gone have they checked offenders in the area yes that was I think one of the first things that they were looking into I do know that for a fact where were you parole officers were, I believe, brought in two, you know. Right, right. All of the above. They searched every single person's garbage can in our neighborhood and the other three neighborhoods that are opposite of us on eighth. Do you know, as a mother, I'm a mother of a little boy. you're living our biggest nightmare you're you're living every mother's biggest nightmare um i'm sure that you never thought you would be this mother you know being interviewed about your about your

monkey you're michael do you feel like these um that he's getting enough attention do you feel like people are aware of what's going on no my beautiful dog No, I don't. I don't, I don't, there are people in Idaho that are just now learning about Michael's case, like, that he's missing. So I'm trying to do everything I can to make sure my goal is to, I want everybody in the world to see his face. I want everybody to know about him. And we're going to be showing his face a lot tonight. Thank you for sharing.

that and you know and like said you still have three other children and a partner and a job and you're searching for your son and you're trying to be a spokesperson and coming on here to talk and so we want to do whatever we can to help that's why I want to talk to you and when I was introduced to you I thought as soon as we can as soon as possible because that matters you know, this isn't something we wait for. As you said, it's been 171 days. What can we as the public do to help get the word out about your Michael? Share his picture. Don't forget about him. Just if you see a place that doesn't have a picture up of him, post a flyer, reshare a flyer. I get a lot of messages and I try, I try my best to respond, but it's not always, not always nice.

I just pointed out all the things you're up against and trying to do. Yes. So we need to do things ourselves. Yes. If we, where do we go? What do we do? I'll have some links. Share his picture.

Share his picture everywhere. On our social media, what else can we do? Are there posters to download or flyers? Yeah, there is some on the Fruitland Police Department Facebook page. I can try and I'm still learning all of the technology and everything like that. I'm getting better at it. Unfortunately, I wish this wasn't the... reason why. But there is a Fruitland community page that has a lot of pictures. I share a lot in there.

A lot of community members share a lot of different things in there. Okay. And I'll have links to all these sites that you're mentioning. For those watching this right now, head to the description of this video for I'll be putting links there. Thank you. How did, go ahead. I was going to say, and you can support Michael. If you find a blue light, put it up, please. A blue light. Front porch light. I can't imagine what you're going through. So, um, Hold on a second. Sorry, I'm professional. It's not unprofessional to have a nice and bam. I promise you.

When you're a reporter, you're taught to just stuff that day. You don't do that. I didn't do that for a long time. Look where I am now. Thank you. What a sweet child was sweet girl. So when you woke up the next day, I didn't. And oh, you didn't wake up. I didn't sleep. You didn't sleep.

When the next day came. Yeah. And you still didn't have your Michael. What were you feeling? Despair, sadness. My heart was broken. I was still broken. Fear.

pure fear I actually Tyler had to pick me up I collapsed when the helicopter flew over because there's a nightmare like this can't be fucking happy sorry it's okay

we have space we're not networking news here I didn't believe this this is happening I still I still it's a never-ending nightmare yeah um

How are you functioning today? Like I said, life goes on, you know? It's not going on for you, but like I said, you have to take care of your family and provide for them. How are you handling things today? This, you know, how are you? Keir is laughing because that is the hardest question. It took a long time. People ask, well, and it's not anybody being mean or rude or anything like that.

It's... You just don't know how to answer. Because I don't know how I'm doing. I'm sad. I'm scared. I'm miserable. I'm lots of counseling. Holding on, you're surviving, probably just getting through each day.

Yeah. It sounds like law enforcement now believe, along with you, that Michael is likely abducted. Although that was a doubt in their mind at first, what changed their direction or their minds? The extensive searches, not finding a single sign. They flew in special dogs from around the country. They did They brought in Cadar Dogs

About three weeks ago Three weeks ago they did Okay I believe so And then along with the Cadabber dogs they brought in Some scent dogs And went through

Acres, miles and miles Of fields, farmland, neighbors houses just so they could say we're 100% sure that they didn't miss anything. And they didn't. They didn't. What is your, you know, I can't imagine a missing child. I can't imagine losing a child, right, to death.

To not have an answer seems like it would be incredibly difficult, to not know. It's the darkest feeling I think you could ever have in the world. Then not knowing. Not knowing if he's being taken care of, if he's happy, if he's okay, if he's hurt, every second of every day, you don't know. So I don't think there could be any worse feeling in the world. Do you have hope? I'll never give up hope.

I'll never give up faith. We're going to find him. We're going to bring him home. I believe that. Being in the situation, understanding what it's like to be on the side that so many, you know, of us can't even imagine what you're going through. What do you want the public to understand

or the public to know about missing children where we can help? Be supportive. Be kind. The families of missing children are, living through hell on earth, not knowing where their baby is. And honestly, you have no idea what you would do or what you would say or how you would act. There's been so much, so much of that, well, I would do this. I would do that.

I pray that not one of those people ever has to feel in a single ounce of, of what we are going through on a daily basis. So until, and I pray that nobody ever has to, you've lived that situation or you've walked a second in that situation, don't tell a mother or a father that you know what you would do because you don't know what you would do. So just be kind and be thankful that, pray that you never have to feel an ounce of this heartache

or this heartbreak ever. Are law enforcement still actively looking? Are you afraid this is going to go cold? Are people looking? Oh, no. No, it's what I meant when I said that I was afraid that Michael's case was going cold was because his case wasn't getting attention from public, I guess. But no, there are some very, very, very dedicated officers. FBI agents, they live, eat, breathe, sleep, trying to find my goal, trying to find answers. So I have this faith in them. The biggest mystery right now then, this white Honda pilot, is that something that we can hope might bring answers?

I know they still want to talk to who. whoever that was. I do know that. I know they're following up on every lead and every tip that they get. They're not going to tell me every single one. And I kind of appreciate that because the ups and downs of all of it is very difficult. So you've given me a long time and parenthood calls. Anything else you want to say? Thank you. Thank you for helping me and helping us, get Michael's story out there. Everyone that continues to share his story, share his picture, everyone who just continues to be supportive. Thank everyone. Thank you for your time. I really appreciate it. Thank you, Brandi. Thank you. We'll do our best, and let's be in touch, and we can do updates.

We'll have you back, and we'll do updates. And if there's anything else we can do, let us know. Thank you so much, Lauren. You're welcome. You go enjoy children. I know that life calls. And we'll do our part in our community for you. Thank you, ma'am. You're welcome. Thank you.

Thank you. How are you doing? Are you okay? No. And that's okay to not be okay. That was a good answer to be able to share. Is there something we can do for you? Don't let anyone move aside of my brother, please.

That's my baby, too. We'll do our best. We'll keep Michael out there. Okay? All right. Thank you, Lauren. You have a good night. Okay, you too.

Good night. Let the blue light signal, shining light for a monkey. Show him the way back to family. When his nightmare started, He was innocent and free. Now he's somewhere where he shouldn't be. So let that blue light signal shine a light for monkey. Show him the way back to family.

There isn't any other color that really matters it seems. except the color amber, which we haven't seen. So let that blue light shine all across the country and show him the way back to family. We want to end this interview with something Dr. John wrote after he heard my interview with Brandy. This holiday season, we are thinking of Michael and have so many children that are missing and their families.

I wanted to share a short piece that I wrote last week when Lauren was recording her interview with Monkey or Michael Monkey Vaughn's mother. When I was listening to the interview as Lauren was editing it, I felt compelled to write a short piece about my own. personal reactions to Monkey having gone missing. And so here's that piece. The title of this short essay is The Heartbreak at the End of the Road, a tribute to Michael Monkey Vaughn and all other children missing at the end of the road. Last night, Lauren was editing her video about the disappearance of Michael, Monkey Vaughn. I listened closely to the story, but was particularly struck by the suddenness of his departure

and the manner in which he was abducted. Monkey was knocking on neighborhood doors, searching for friends with whom to play. Special canines later tracked ascent to these same doors as he criss-crossed the neighborhood in search of companionship. What happened next, however, was particularly striking. The scent comes to an abrupt halt near the end of the street where the Vaughn family lived,

as if someone saw an opportunity, perhaps they had been watching him wander about, to abduct him and exit the neighborhood quickly and without detection. Later that night, I could not shake this image from my mind. A small boy, lonely and in search of friends, walks to the end of the street and disappears without a trace into the fading sunlight. I picture my son, nearly the same age as monkey, walking to the end of the street without guile or presumption or expectation.

He just wants to play. He just wants to find a few friends. It's an exercise of pure innocence and a search to appease some loneliness with a few neighborhood friends. I picture my son being pulled into the backseat of a stranger's car, terrified and realizing his capture by, quote, the bad guys, unquote,

the same bad guys he envisions every night before bed has come to fruition. At this point in my narrative, I reached the place of the, imponderable. Rarely in life do events occur that are so outside the normal social and expected operation of the world that they deserve special consideration. I call these events imponderables. 9-11 was an imponderable, as was Auschwitch, Jeffrey Dahmer, John Wayne Gacy, Hitler, and all the missing children who have been abducted by strangers for devious, salacious, and maniacal gain.

I picture my son an absolute terror, crying frantically for the strangers to let him go. They beat and slap him to obtain his compliance. He resists. He can be an independent soul with a strong sense of justice. He has never been hit or spanked. They hit him harder, almost to the point of unconsciousness. As a father, this vision becomes blurred, nearly intolerable. I can't sustain this image in my mind.

How badly will they hurt him? Will he be tortured? Will he be physically and sexually abused? Traffic to wealthy pedophiles in a child pornography ring? Imponderables. I cannot let my mind wander so far, even as I realize the reality of this vision for thousands of children over the years.

I want to scream. I want to cry. I want to spite the universe for the sordid and malicious human inhabitants of this heartbroken world. Mostly, I want to protect. my son to ensure that he is sheltered from this dark, barbaric part of the human world. I mentioned my fears of abduction to Lauren. She says, quote, I think if I had a choice between our son being repeatedly tortured and abused

on a daily basis or being killed quickly and painlessly, I would choose the latter option, unquote. This choice does not assuage my fears, another imponderable. death or torture for the human being you love the most. Again, I cannot let my mind wander down this path. I want to say that I would always choose life if I knew my son would be returned to me. But at what cost, would he be wounded beyond repair? Would he have any faith left in humanity

and the goodness and possibilities of being human? As humans, we have to face some stark and existential realizations that life will end, that suffering is inevitable, that human beings routinely hurt one another, that pain and loss and death follow us everywhere. For me, in my life, crime is a reminder of all of these realizations. At some point, the footsteps stop and the path reaches a dead end. Each step we take in life marks the passage of time,

moments we can never retrieve. If we are fortunate, we leave behind many steps and tread many paths. even blazing a few of our own unique trails along the way. Eventually, the trail runs out. We say goodbye to life. If we're lucky, we enjoy the path and bring along some of those people we have loved. A good life is a life with many steps, trails, explorations, imaginings, journeys, and connections. We might say we approach the end of the road with a full heart,

while acknowledging that the end is always tinged with some heartbreak. I picture this. A white band pulls up at the end of the road and deposits a little blonde boy into familiar terrain. He knows the steps home. He's walked this path many times. A doorbell rings and the boy is greeted with tears, laughter, celebration. It is a homecoming. A world turned upside down is now reversed and returns to spinning on its normal access. There's so much love, so many questions, so much mystery and celebration. Monkey is home at last. I want to walk that path home. We all do to bring monkey home, to set the world right, to know our children are safe, to bring home all missing children. I want to view the world is safe and predictable and filled with hope and love and beauty and truth and justice, and sometimes it is. Sometimes the path is predictable and filled with love and connection and hope.

I spent the other day in prison with a man who had abducted a young girl and raped and tortured her for months until he was caught. The girl survived, but she will likely always struggle with the trauma and devastation of a path she never chose and never anticipated. Her path in life remains uncertain and fraught with pain and in her turmoil. The other night I dreamt I was walking down an empty, deserted street, lacking direction, and uncertain of the destination. I came to the end of the street, but there was nowhere to turn, no signs to guide. No signs to my movements. I was lost. I was alone. There was no one to help me. The homes lighting the street were empty, devoid of any life or lights. A van pulled up and the stranger forced me into the back

seat. Sometimes the world stops and the path ends abruptly without explanation or reason. Sometimes the world hands us the most devastating, unimaginable heartbreak, beyond comprehension, beyond possibility. It is imponderable. As much as I try to imagine for one heartbreaking moment that my son or any child could be abducted and tortured or even killed, my mind can only take me so far

before shutting down this kind of pain and desolate vision for the future. And yet, so many children unwittingly find themselves as just such victims of abduction, abuse, and torture. Sometimes the only viable option when we are calamitously lost is to take the next step and to hope that perhaps we can begin

to find our way home once again. I hope that monkey steps back into the world for the sake of humanity and all the good that humans can and should muster. I hope against hope that he and all of us can find the way home. My fondest hope, may the path ahead stretch out farther

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