WSU graduate who disappeared from Seattle airport may be with man, missing 2-year-old daughter

A recent Washington State University graduate who disappeared from a Seattle airport more than a month ago may be traveling with a 21-year-old man wanted for failing to return his 2-year-old daughter to the child's mother.

Nadia Erika Cole, 21, disappeared on May 29 after security camera footage showed her leaving Seattle-Tacoma International Airport at 3:08 p.m., Fife police reported on X.

She was wearing a black North Face jacket, a sage green hoodie, black pants and white sneakers at the time. Authorities said she may have been seen in the area of ​​Fife, a suburb of Tacoma.

Pullman police said they believe Cole may be with Aaron Aung, whose 2-year-old daughter, Seraya Aung Harmon, has been reported missing.

Aaron Breshears of the Pullman Police Department told Seattle's NBC affiliate KING-TV that Cole was in a relationship with Aung and “it's more than a coincidence that she disappeared at the same time.”

Aung, of Moscow, Idaho, and his daughter were last seen on May 29, the same day Cole disappeared, according to authorities. Aung allegedly took Seraya to Montana for a fishing trip and was supposed to return the child to her mother in Pullman on Monday, police said. Aung never showed up for the planned custody exchange, authorities said.

On Wednesday, a warrant was issued for Aung's arrest for first-degree custodial interference after police said he violated a parenting plan in Latah County District Court.

Cole's family said the circumstances surrounding his disappearance were “totally out of character,” KING-TV reported, citing a statement released by a private investigator they hired. On the day she disappeared, the family said she left her belongings at an airport gate to go to the bathroom and was seen leaving the airport with “an expression of distress.”

“We are completely devastated by his passing and are fervently praying for his safe return,” his parents, Beata and Kirk Cole, said in the statement.

Cole was a recent graduate of Washington State University, authorities said. There is a $1,000 reward for information leading to his safe return.

Pullman police said they were working with Moscow, Idaho, police and the FBI on Seraya's disappearance.