VANCOUVER, Wash. (KOIN) — The FBI has now joined the Vancouver Police Department to search for an 8-year-old boy not seen for more than seven months.
Officers conducted a welfare check on June 17, 2022, on Breadson John. The check, initiated by “members of the community,” was to confirm information about a criminal investigation. Detectives have tried to contact multiple family members to determine if John is with family or is missing, according to Vancouver police.
Vancouver police have also partnered with the FBI to assist with locating John.
“Breadsdon’s caregivers have not been forthcoming as to where his location is. They insist that he is not missing,” said Steve Bernd from the FBI.
Officials said family members have not provided investigators with information about John’s location. John’s grandparents, Masterino Machuo and Refoela Refalopei, were John’s last known guardians and persons of interest in the investigation, and were charged with custodial interference last month.
It was a community member who initiated a welfare check for John by putting up posters and sounding the alarm that he was missing and endangered.
“It’s common that a caregiver of a child, if they didn’t know where the child was, would try to do everything they could to help locate the child. And that’s not what we’re getting right now,” Bernd said. “We ask the public’s help, and they’re one of our best resources when it comes to finding those missing puzzle pieces to solve the case. So we’re convinced someone out there knows what has happened or where he may be.”
It’s unclear at this time whether John was even attending school.
“We’re talking about an eight-year-old little boy here. He should have every advantage, an opportunity that any other eight-year-old boy in this country has. So, we want to find out where he is,” Bernd said.
Breadson John has black hair, was born in Hawaii and is a Pacific Islander. The child, also called “Brxsan,” speaks English, Trukeese/Chukeese, the FBI said.
He also has ties to Arizona and the islands of Micronesia. Authorities say his parents live overseas.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the local FBI office, the nearest American Embassy or Consulate or online: tips.fbi.gov
KOIN 6 News will have more information as it develops.