One year later, vigil for baby Sky near Julia Biryukova’s apartment

“I have my talks with Jesus every night. This is probably the worst crime you can think of that touches everybody’s heart.”

One year after 2-year-old Sky Metalwala went missing in Bellevue, his father, Solomon, says Sky’s big sister misses him every day.

“I have to answer to my little princess who [says], ‘He was with me. He used to play with me.'”

Sky’s mother, Julia Biryukova, claimed that on November 6th of 2011 she ran out of gas on 112th Ave NE and left her son buckled up inside the car to walk with her daughter to a nearby gas station for help. When they returned, Sky was gone.

But police found 2.2 gallons of gas in Julia’s car, which was running just fine, and no witnesses to support her story. It turns out, no one had seen Sky for weeks.

Julia has refused to take a polygraph or to talk directly with investigators. She remains isolated in her Redmond apartment.

A year later, Solomon has full custody of their 5-year-old daughter, Maile, and is studying accounting at Lake Washington Technical College.

He’s also working every day to find Sky. Solomon says he understands people are frustrated with the speed of the investigation, but he does not want people to trash Bellevue or Redmond Police.

“I have full confidence in what they’re doing. Yes it’s taking a long time. I know. If I’m ok with it, let’s just come together as a community. Let’s pray for the investigators who are working on this. Let’s not bicker.”

Solomon believes Sky is still alive. He says investigators have looked into leads as far away as the Ukraine, where Julia’s extended family lives, and they are still receiving tips.

He recently posted a message on Facebook speaking directly to the people responsible:

“This family, this community, is not going to stop. Whoever has Sky, give up now… Because the longer you take, the stronger we will become.”

“I know that you probably really want a child. But this boy belongs to me. This boy belongs to the community of Washington. This boy has a sister who misses him dearly.”

Solomon knows a lot of people don’t share his optimism.

“Do I want to believe that he’s dead? What proof do I have? It’s easy to believe that. I can be done. I can just start healing. But I believe that God is good.”

Solomon, friends, and family are holding a vigil for Sky this Saturday, November 10th, at 4:00 PM at Redmond’s Downtown Central Park at 16119 Redmond Way.

He wants the community to turn out in full force. “It will speak volumes to the person who has Sky. That person needs to know that we’re not going to give up.”

The gathering happens to be a block away from where Julia Biryukova lives.

“I don’t mind saying that it is very close to where Julia lives. Is it a coincidence? All I know is I was looking for a place, and that’s what I wanted.”