Michael: How bout if we do uh, uh a line of a pattern
with the stars and maybe we can shape something! What is that called?
Brandi Neal (Michael's Mother): Astrology
Michael: Astrology... right!
Brandi Neal (Michael's Mother): It has been 115 days... 115 days he has not been home!
Hello Friends!
Steve Stockton here with you...
Today we are going to be discussing the case of little Michael Vaughan.
Michael was last seen on South West 9th street in Fruitland, Idaho
in late July 2021 at around 6:30pm.
Michael is described as being 3' 6” tall and weighs approximately 50lbs.
He was last seen wearing a blue Minecraft t-shirt.
Michael has blonde hair and blue eyes and answers to the nickname “Monkey”.
On Tuesday, July 27th, 2021, 5-year-old Michael Vaughan, a resident of Fruitland, Idaho
was at home with his Dad and siblings playing Nintendo games.
His dad stepped into the other room to check on Michael’s little sister and order dinner
and when he returned, Michael was gone.
Michael’s mother, Brandi Neal,
stated that around 6:40pm she received a call from Tyler, Michael’s father and he was frantic.
He couldn’t find Michael!
Brandi immediately left work and rushed home to be met by police
cars and neighbors who were standing outside.
Some of those neighbors stated that they had seen Michael knocking on doors
in the moments leading up to his disappearance.
Brandi couldn’t really explain why he was knocking on doors but
did say that Michael was a very friendly child.
Michael’s aunt, Chrissy Vaughan stated:
“It was definitely not normal for Michael to be out knocking on doors...
He loves playing outside and always wants to ride bikes...
but his parents always go and watch him play...
He has been to the neighbors house and jumped on the trampoline before...
but only with permission and under supervision...
He had gone outside a few times before without asking...
but his parents both expressed that it had been well over a year since the last time he'd done that.
He was good about following the rules when it came to going out in the front.”
So Michael’s Mom and Dad were doing what good parents do.
Making sure that Michael knew that being outside without supervision,
especially out in the front yard was off limits unless he was accompanied by an adult.
As to what might have caused Michael to walk out alone on this particular day,
they can only speculate.
A few things about the family’s routine had changed recently.
His mother, Brandi had just started back to work full time and Michael missed having her at home.
He didn’t want her to go to work on this particular morning.
Something she says will always haunt her.
Brandi Neal: Everyday when the leafs started to change
I lost... I lost my mind. I can't...
Michael had asked his older siblings if they wanted to play but had no luck there.
Grandpa was out running errands.
Dad was tending to baby sister and was already exhausted from
a work day that had begun in the wee hours of that morning.
All things considered, the family believes Michael was simply bored
so he decided to break the rules and set out on his own to find something to do.
His mother noted that Michael likely went out of the side door leading to the garage.
She mentioned that the front door was more difficult to open
and would have been loud enough to alert Michael’s dad that he had gone outside.
K-9 units were deployed and the dogs were able to
track Michael’s scent to the end of their streetwhere it ended abruptly.
Michael’s aunt, Chrissy Vaughan expressed to us how sad and disappointed the family
has been with the amount of misinformation that’s been spread online about Michael’s disappearance.
Out of deep respect for the family, we would like
to take this opportunity to address a couple of things.
As humans, we are meaning assigners and sense makers.
Very often when we experience horror and disbelief, this can lead to wild speculation.
While it may not be our intention, we can, in an attempt to make sense
of an unfathomable circumstance, assign meaning where there is no real correlation.
Michael’s mother, Brandi has stepped forward as the family’s spokesperson.
"As much as everyone from our family wants to be up here in front of all of you today
I am heree to speak on all of our behalf."
Michael’s father, Tyler has not made a statement on camera and this has led
some to suggest that this absence is proof of guilt.
Unfairly insinuating that this must mean he was involved in his son’s disappearance.
What we cannot see, is that off camera,
Tyler is always within a few feet of Brandi as she speaks to the media.
His absence on camera is in no way indicative of involvement in his son’s disappearance.
To suggest such a thing is harmful.
This is how misinformation is spread.
This adds even more weight to the impossibly heavy load Michael’s dad is already carrying.
The Fruitland police chief, J.D. Huff made it very clear that Michael’s family has been 100%
cooperative throughout this investigation and have complied with all investigative requests.
They are not suspects.
We also want to emphasize that Michael's family has continues to be 100% cooperative with our investigation
and we are asking you to be extremely respectful of their privacy during this situation and we would appriciate that.
Chief Huff went on to say that there is increased probability that Michael had been abducted.
This conclusion was reached due to the lack of headway made in ground searches.
Why would we continue to search areas that had been searched multiple times before?
Well, because we have not found Michael yet and conditions change.
So further, you can imagine going home every night as a Law Enforcement Officer wondering:
"did we miss something during the search?"
The Fruitland Police, the FBI and other investigative agencies,
have combed through thousands of acres and found nothing related to Michael.
They have searched with helicopters, drones,
boats, divers and on foot and are continuing to follow every lead.
Fruitland Police chief, J.D. Huff, needs help identifying the driver of of a 2016-2020
white Honda Pilot that was seen leaving Southwest 8th Street around 6:47pm on July 27th.
They are also looking for the driver of a 2010-2011
blue Dodge Avenger which left that area but turned right and headed down South Whitley drive.
They also need help identifying two other people seen in that area.
The first is a man who was seen jogging in the area.
He had dark hair and facial hair and was wearing dark shorts with no shirt.
The second is a man who was seen walking.
He had dark hair, a white tshirt and black shorts.
Michael’s mother Brandi told reporters that she
believed someone may have been watching her family.
Someone may have been watching us. Thats my feeling.
That's... that's my mamma's heart feeling
She offered no explanation as to what gave her cause to believe this
other than mother’s intuition.
But it’s been said that momma’s instinct is worth more than a medical degree.
She also stated emphatically that she believes Michael is alive and that he will be coming home.
Reporter: Do you believe that Michael is alive still? Do you have a feeling he is not?
Brandi Neal (Michael's Mother): I know in my heart heis alive.
I know... I know he is and I know he is coming home. He will come home.
When tragedy strikes, we feel helpless.
Nevertheless we are always eager to know what we can do.
What positive action might we be able to take so that we can, at the very least, make a difference.
We were fortunate enough to speak with an organization called the child rescue coalition.
Child rescue coalition has made it their mission to protect children from online predators
as well as educate parents on how to best protect their kids.
Now we want to be clear that the following statement is not to suggest
Michael’s parents did anything to lure a predator to him, online or otherwise.
But as it pertains to real world actions that we can implement right now,
Child Rescue Coalition is sharing one of the most important messages out there.
Here is what they had to say:
“As parents, guardians and educators,
it is our responsibility to keep our children out of harm’s way...
However, with the expansion of the internet and digital technologies,
this responsibility has become even more challenging...
Good digital safety practices mean that adults and kids should be aware
of how predators may track children online...
At Child Rescue Coalition,
we are providing important resources for safe practices from the very beginning...
Visit childrescuecoalition.org
education for more information on how to keep kids safe from predators online.”
Be sure to visit their website.
Links will be provided in the description.
Spread the word to every parent, grandparent, aunt and uncle you know.
A community should be informed about the ways in which children
can be targeted and how they have evolved.
If you have any information on the disappearance or whereabouts of Michael Vaughan, you can
contact the Fruitland Police Department at 208-642-6006 or email: findMichael@fruitland.org
Well there you have it folks!
Spread the word, lets bring little Michael home.
I look forward to your comments, but please keep it friendly and respectful.
In the meanwhile, be good to yourselves and each other
and I'll see you just a little further on down the trail.
I'm Steve Stockton and I will talk to you next
time .