BRING MONKEY HOME.COM
Help Us Find Michael Vaughan
WELCOME TO
HelpFindMichael.com
1 800-THE-LOST.COM
Help Us Bring Monkey Home
About Us
The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children is a private, non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation whose mission is to help find missing children, reduce child sexual exploitation, and prevent child victimization. NCMEC works with families, victims, private industry, law enforcement, and the public to assist with preventing child abductions, recovering missing children, and providing services to deter and combat child sexual exploitation.
As the nation’s nonprofit clearinghouse and comprehensive reporting center for all issues related to the prevention of and recovery from child victimization, NCMEC leads the fight against abduction, abuse, and exploitation – because every child deserves a safe childhood.
Hope is Why We’re Here.
The Disappearance of Little Michael Vaughan from Fruitland Idaho
(Watch The Short Video & Learn More)
View Video
If you have any information on the disappearance or whereabouts of Michael Vaughan Please contact the Fruitland Police Department at: 208-642-6006 or email: [email protected]
• Autism & Wandering
• Child Sex Trafficking
• End-to-End Encryption
• Family Abduction
• Help ID Me
• Infant Abductions
• Long-Term Missing
• Missing From Care
• Online Enticement
• Other Types of Missing
• Endangered Runaways
• Sextortion
• Child Sexual Abuse Material
• Non-family Abductions & Attempts
• Search Missing Posters
• Make a CyberTipline Report
• AMBER Alerts
Help Bring Monkey Home
(Watch The Short Video & Learn More)
View Video
FPD: “To those who stand strong and continue to support both Michael’s family and the efforts of law enforcement to find Michael, thank you. You’re helping us avoid conjecture and keep the focus on finding this little boy.”
Latest News Video Updates
(Watch The Short Video & Learn More)
View Video
Mar 24, 2022: The Fruitland Police Department (FPD) posted an update on the investigation into the disappearance of Michael Vaughan on Thursday, the five-year-old boy who went missing nearly eight months ago. Michael was last seen around 6:30 p.m. on July 27 near SW 9th Street. He is described as 3 feet, 7 inches tall; about 50 pounds; with blond hair and blue eyes. The Fruitland boy was wearing a blue Minecraft sweatshirt and dark blue briefs. He also answers to a nickname, “Monkey.” The reward for Michael’s safe return has grown to $52,860, FPD wrote Thursday. The department also said the fund is in an account with the City of Fruitland and is reactivated until March 31, 2022. In December of 2021, Fruitland Police asked for help to identify the driver of a white Honda Pilot seen leaving the area of SW 8th Street at around 6:47 p.m. on July 27. On Thursday, FPD said the vehicle has not been confirmed as identified, but the department said they “feel strongly that we know who it belongs to.” Fruitland Police continues to seek information on the Honda Pilot, according to its Facebook update. “We are working through newly obtained data from that time frame and are hopeful that will produce new leads,” FPD’s update said. “This is an exhaustive, labor intensive task. The search for Michael has taken on several phases and after multiple ground searches in and around the area and across the State of Idaho, as we have said, there is a high probability of an abduction.” FPD said it has received nearly 850 leads on Michael’s disappearance, but almost all of them have been cleared. Idaho State Police and the FBI are assisting with the investigation. “Although we have been working the potential criminal abduction aspect since the time Michael went missing, it became our primary focus several months ago. Due to the fact that this is a criminal investigation we are limited in the information that can be shared,” FPD said. “At this time we have no intention of coordinating another ground search as the entire area has been searched multiple times by local police agencies, professional search and rescue units, community volunteers, helicopters, drones, boats, divers, professional K9 units. These areas have been walked step by careful step and if a credible lead sends us back to that area or to a forest, a field, or anywhere, we will go.
Semi-trucks feature missing Idaho boy Michael Vaughan
(Watch The Short Video & Learn More)
View Video
August 24th, 2022: Michael Vaughan, a boy who went missing from his Fruitland neighborhood in July of last year, will now have his face and name across three or more semi-truck trailers that will possibly generate new tips and leads to law enforcement.
July 22nd, 2022 – Emma Henderson Vaughan
UPDATE – NEW IMAGE RELEASED
On July 22, the Fruitland Police Department held a media briefing to update the public on the search for Michael and the continued investigation of his case.
During the briefing, police announced that at this time, they have received over 1000 leads on Michael’s disappearance and wanted to assure the public that they were thoroughly investigating each lead as it came in.
The department also announced that in addition to the white Honda pilot, investigators are trying to identify a man seen walking through the splash pad area of Crestview Park leading up to the time of Michael’s disappearance. The man is described as the following:
• A white male adult
• In his late 20’s to early 30’s
• Seen wearing black shorts, a white T-shirt with cut off sleeves, dark colored shoes and a hat.
While the man is not a suspect or person of interest at this time, police want to speak to him to determine his whereabouts and if he witnessed anything that may be helpful to the investigation.
July 21st, 2022: About 50 miles west of Boise, Idaho, sits “The Big Apple of Idaho,” a small town otherwise known as Fruitland. Fruitland is a tight-knit community, one that gets its name from the apple orchards that surround the family-filled city.
In the last year, the quiet town of Fruitland has made national headlines, not because of its agriculture, but instead because of a missing boy, a 5-year-old who vanished one July night last summer.
Fruitland, Idaho, is the home of Michael Vaughan. And nearly a year ago, it’s where he was last seen.
July 27th, 2021: Started like every other normal summer day for Michael and his family. His mother, Brandi Neal, told NCMEC that she had been working numerous days in a row and that this was finally her last day before a break.
She promised her son Michael, whom she affectionately dubbed “Monkey” due to his rambunctious and full-of-energy personality, that when she returned home, she would have a few days off for them to play together.
Brandi called home later that afternoon, around 4 p.m., and Michael was playing video games. Everything was normal.
She didn’t know at the time that a few hours later she would receive the call that would change her world.
Michael “Monkey” Vaughan, a fun-loving, blue-eyed little boy who likes to play outside, was missing, and no one could find him.
That’s when the seemingly normal summer day of July 27 would turn into a year-long, nationwide missing child search, leaving everyone pondering the question:
Where is Michael?
Investigators say that on the day Michael went missing, he was last seen between the hours of 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. near his home. At the time, he was walking east in the area of Southwest 9th Street. He was wearing a blue Minecraft T-shirt and blue boxer-style shorts with flip-flops.
Soon after he was last seen, a county-wide search began. Photos of Michael circulated around Idaho and the rest of the United States. Countless searches were performed by search and rescue units, law enforcement agencies and community volunteers, yet there was still no sign of Michael.
In October 2021, Fruitland Police Department announced that they were asking for help in identifying a car that was seen in the area around the time that Michael went missing. Police believe the car below is a 2016-2018 white Honda Pilot. The car was seen on surveillance footage leaving the area of Southwest 8th St. around 6:47 p.m. that afternoon.
In March 2022, the department’s Facebook said that they had received nearly 850 leads on Michael’s disappearance and that nearly all of them had been cleared. They thanked the public for their support.
“Please know that while not all investigative efforts can be made public, our focus remains strongly on finding Michael, with no stone being left unturned, every option carefully considered, and all leads investigated,” the post said.
As for Michael’s family, his parents are holding onto hope. In June, the local community gathered to celebrate Michael’s 6th birthday. His mom and dad told KTVB 7 that no matter what, they would continue the search.
“He’s coming home and we’re waiting on him—we’re all waiting for him,” Brandi said. “Every single one of us are waiting for him and we’re going to bring him home.”
“He’s beyond missed and beyond loved and we need him,” Tyler Vaughan, Michael’s father, said.
“We need him”
If you have any information on Michael Vaughan or his disappearance, please call the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST. You can also call the Fruitland Police Department @ 1-208-642-6006 or email their tip line at [email protected]
View Michael’s missing poster here:
(Watch The Short Video & Learn More)
View Video
Michael Vaughan’s parents refuse to give up Hope.
(Watch The Short Video & Learn More)
View Video
It’s been nearly an entire year since Michael Vaughan went missing from his neighborhood in Fruitland, and every day since, his parents struggle to get out of bed. But, they do it for Michael, and the hope of his return. Hope comes from their hearts, said Tyler Vaughan, Michael Vaughan’s father. Every day when he doesn’t want to get out of bed, he and Michael’s mother Brandi Neal do it anyway to keep their family together.
Posters & Flyers for Monkey
Help Spread the Word & Search
Please take a look at our Poster / Flyers section and share one of them to your social media.
HelpFindMichaelVaughan.com
Frequently Asked Questions
How Many Missing Children are Found Each Year?
Having a child go missing is a terrifying experience. But most children who go missing are discovered and fairly quickly. Understanding how parents and governments go about finding a missing child can help any left-behind parent assess what to do next.
How Many Missing Children Are Found Each Year?
According to our research and experience, out of the half a million children that go missing every year in the United States, nearly all of them are found. That’s 97.8%. So, half a million children go missing, but nearly all of them are also found.
When most people think about missing children, they imagine children being lured into white vans. But if a father or mother takes a child without permission, and they don’t have custody, that’s considered a missing child, and the vast majority of missing kids are due to family abductions. There are more than 3,000 attempted snatchings per year, and more than 90% of those are runaways or parental abductions.
But missing children, for whatever reason, always needs to be treated as a serious child abduction. Even a parent can potentially do harm to a child. Because of this, all cases are taken seriously.
How Are Missing Children Usually Found?
According to the FBI, in 2020 there were 365,348 NCIC entries for missing children. In 2019, the total number of missing children entries into the NCIC was 421,395. In our experience, 50% of these are parental abductions.
Law enforcement, investigators, and family members may use many tools to try to find missing children. That includes banking records, social media accounts, public cameras, and other resources. The more people looking for the children, the more likely it is that they will be discovered quickly. Other tools, such as Amber alerts, may also be used.
When older children have gone missing of their own volition, the odds of any significant danger are lessened but not eradicated. When there is a hotly contested custody dispute or children have been abducted by a stranger, the case needs to be treated with more urgency. Either way, the authorities will work closely with parents and other family members to try to locate the child as soon as possible.
How Do Children Go Missing?
Many children go missing because a non-custodial family member has taken them away. The family member may not even perceive this as a kidnapping, but it legally is. Other children go missing because they have run away. It is incredibly rare for a stranger to take a child. But abduction by a non-custodial parent is no less dangerous. Sometimes, the parent may think they have the child’s best interest in mind, but they are never going through the appropriate legal route.
When a child goes missing because they have been abducted, it’s especially important to find them quickly. While children have sometimes been discovered years or decades after the fact, it becomes more difficult for the child to be assimilated back into the family.
Ultimately, most children who go missing are found. But just finding the child isn’t always the end of the situation. If there’s been a custody dispute, parents often need to address the custody problems, go to family court, and otherwise get legal assistance. The process of finding and ensuring that a child is safe is something that parents should have an advocate for.
If you have more questions about missing children, how they’re discovered, and how you can get help, contact us today. We can help you find the resources that you need.
← Guide to International Parental Kidnapping
How to Prevent a Parental Abduction →
Contact Us
HELP US
BringMonkeyHome.com
200 S. Whitley / PO Box 324 Fruitland, Idaho 83619
Get Directions
Phone: (208) 452-4421
Fax: (208) 452-7032
If you know where Michael is please call 911 immediately.
Any Tips, please call the Payette County Sheriff’s Office @ (208) 642-6006 or email: [email protected]
HelpFindMissingKids.com
BringMonkeyHome.com
1800-THE-LOST.com
HelpFindMichael.com
Related Business Information
1 800-THE-LOST.com
333 John Carlyle St Suite # 125, Alexandria, VA 22314, USA
Website: https://www.HelpFindMichael.com
View the related business: 1 800-THE-LOST.com
We are not affiliated, associated, authorized, endorsed by, or in any way officially connected with any other company, agency or government agency. All product and company names are trademarks™ or registered® trademarks of their respective holders. Use of them does not imply any affiliation with or endorsement by them. Retailers are under no legal obligation to accept offers or coupons.
