Man’s fiancée indicted in Pullman kidnapping case of 2-year-old girl to Mexico
Aug 15, 2024, 4:51 PM | Updated: Aug 16, 2024, 11:19 am
From left, 2-year old girl Seraya Aung Harmon, Nadia Cole, center, and Aaron Aung. Aung is engaged to Cole and is Aung Harmon's father. (Photos courtesy of Pullman Police Department)
(Photos courtesy of Pullman Police Department)
There is another update in the Pullman kidnapping case of Seraya Aung Harmon, a 2-year-old girl who went missing and was later found. Nadia Cole, the fiancée of 21-year-old Aaron Aung from Moscow, Idaho who is the father of Aung Harmon, was indicted, reported KIRO 7 on Thursday.
Cole is accused of helping Aaron Aung kidnap his daughter. Aaron Aung, according to KIRO 7, is charged with international kidnapping.
Jaimes Tin Aung, Aaron Aung’s father, was indicted earlier this month on charges of conspiring to commit parental kidnapping and parental kidnapping, according to The Spokesman-Review. The Spokesman-Review also reported that Aaron Aung pleaded not guilty to the same charges in federal court last week.
Background of Pullman kidnapping case
The city of Pullman released a report on July 8 stating Aung Harmon was found at a roadside checkpoint near Santa Ana, Mexico. Aaron Aung failed to return the child to her mother’s custody on June 3 in Pullman.
Past coverage: Missing Pullman girl, 2, found alive with couple who fled to Mexico
Cole, 21, was reported missing at the end of May as she was last seen at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
According to KIRO 7, Cole vanished just before she was supposed to board a flight to Italy with her parents. Her parents told authorities the trip was a celebration after she graduated with honors from Washington State University.
However, before boarding the flight Cole asked her mother to watch her phone and luggage while she went to the restroom. Instead, police said she met up with Aaron Aung and his daughter, reported KIRO 7. The couple then traveled to Mexico with the child.
Authorities in Mexico detained the couple and turned them over to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the city of Pullman reported.
According to KIRO 7, the girl is now in the care of protective services. Cole is scheduled to appear in court on September 6.
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Contributing: Steve Coogan and Frank Sumrall, MyNorthwest; KIRO 7
Julia Dallas is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read her stories here. Follow Julia on X here and email her here.
