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Community rallies behind father’s 22-hour birthday walk for missing autistic son, Jonathan Hoang

KIRKLAND, Wash. — A North Sound community is taking steps to keep the search going for Jonathan Hoang, an autistic Arlington man who’s been missing since March 30.

On Friday at 7:30pm, the group began a 22-hour walk-a-thon for Hoang’s 22nd birthday at Juanita Beach Park in Kirkland.

“7:30pm is poignant for us because it was about the time that I last saw him. I last spoke to him as he went to bed that night,” said Thao Hoang, Jonathan’s father.

It’s been 5 months since Thao has seen his son and he hasn’t stopped searching since.

Jonathan disappeared from his Arlington home in March.

“Devastated. Heartbroken, destroyed, more dead than alive. We just exist from moment to moment and just hoping to wake up one morning to see him back home,” said Thao.

His father says Jonathan turns 22 on August 30th, but he expresses himself as a young child with a mental capacity of an eight- to nine-year-old.

In June, Thao says ring video showed his son in a Kirkland neighborhood. He was relieved to see him alive, but there haven’t been any confirmed sightings since.

“He seems well kept, his hair cut short, and he appears clean from the video. So someone’s taking care of him. Someone has him somewhere. So I know where he’s at,” Thao explained.

He’s retracing those steps with people across the state by his side.

“I’m walking around so people think about him and see his face and hopefully remember what he looks like so in case they spot him that they’ll call 911,” said Danielle Blackburn of Arlington.

Thao says he’s doing whatever it takes to get his son home.

“I just feel I have to do something. And this is one way that I can feel myself with him somewhere around here and I’m hoping I’ll see him tonight,” he said.

If you see Jonathan, you’re asked to take a picture of him, ask for his name, and call 911.

There is a $100,00 reward to anyone who finds him.

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