MYNORTHWEST NEWS

Missing mom found; admits to staging disappearance

Sep 10, 2015, 11:18 PM | Updated: Sep 11, 2015, 1:01 pm

Police say Moua Vang, reported missing from a Lakewood farmer’s market on Tuesday night, has ...

Police say Moua Vang, reported missing from a Lakewood farmer's market on Tuesday night, has been found safe. She staged her disappearance. (Lakewood Police Dept.)

(Lakewood Police Dept.)

Police say a woman reported missing from a Lakewood farmer’s market on Tuesday night has been found safe. She admitted to staging her disappearance.

Moua Vang, wife and mother of six, is a regular flower vendor at the Lakewood Farmer’s Market and was closing up her stand Tuesday evening when she “disappeared.”

Family members last heard from Vang at 4:30 p.m. Her van was found in disarray at the market about four hours later. Her keys and phone were found inside.

Vang told police she made it look like an abduction so she could leave her family.

“She actually flew to Thailand and then had second thoughts and on her own volition, flew back to Seattle,” said Lt. John Unfred with the Lakewood Police Department.

“She was obviously planning this for quite some time,” he said. “She had saved up quite a bit of money in order to do this and obviously had quite the plan put together.”

No one else was involved in her disappearance. Vang arraigned for a ride from an airport shuttle company, according to Unfred.

Police say Vang arrived to Sea-Tac Airport on Thursday night with the help of Homeland Security.

Vang was committed to a mental health facility after making comments about suicide, according to police.

“She was in some sort of crisis that led her to do this,” Unfred said, noting that it’s likely that family problems played a large part in her actions.

MyNorthwest News

U-District attack...

Jack Bilyeu, KIRO 7 News

21-year-old suffers brain bleed after U-District attack over parking space

A 21-year-old ended her birthday in the hospital bleeding from her brain after she was attacked in Seattle’s U-District neighborhood.

22 minutes ago

Georgetown stabbing...

James Lynch

Seattle police investigate stabbing in Georgetown

The Seattle Police Department (SPD) is investigating an early-morning stabbing in Georgetown.

45 minutes ago

zillow seattle millionaires...

Jason Sutich

91 Seattle jobs cut as Zillow slashes 500+ positions amid AI push

Zillow, the Seattle-based online real estate company, laid off more than 500 employees on Tuesday — roughly 7% of its global workforce.

2 hours ago

katie wilson seattle primary...

Luke Duecy

Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson-backed progressive candidates fall short in Washington primary races

Two progressive candidates endorsed by Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson were defeated Tuesday in Washington's primary election.

2 hours ago

kitsap felon gun drugs...

Jason Sutich

Kitsap deputies find gun, drugs after felon found semi-unconscious in parked car

A 32-year-old Port Orchard man was arrested on Tuesday after he was found partially unconscious inside a parked car during a welfare check.

3 hours ago

Amazon bite of seattle shooting vendors...

MyNorthwest Staff

Amazon donates $350K to vendors impacted by Bite of Seattle shooting

Amazon is donating $350,000 in aid for local food vendors and anyone impacted by the Bite of Seattle shooting at the Seattle Center.

3 hours ago

Missing mom found; admits to staging disappearance