Four years after 5-year-old Michael Vaughan went missing in Idaho, prosecutors have filed murder charges against the person who is believed to have abducted and killed the young child.
“My office is moving forward with charges against the individuals involved in the disappearance and murder of 5-year-old Michael Vaughan, which occurred in the summer of 2021,” Payette County Prosecutor Michael Duke said in a statement on October 31, according to Fox News.
Despite confirming that charges are coming, Duke did not reveal who has been charged in connection to the crime or how many people are considered to be suspects.
However, convicted felon Stacey Wondra was previously suspected in the case. Local outlet KTVB-7 reported that Stacey, 33, lived near the victim at the time he vanished and he has been named in an arrest warrant.
Stacey will reportedly be charged with first-degree murder, second-degree kidnapping and destruction of evidence, the outlet reported after interviewing a local law enforcement source.
The alleged suspect is no stranger to law enforcement, and he and his wife, Sarah Wondra, were both arrested in 2022 on lesser charges in connection with the investigation into Michael’s disappearance.
She was charged with failing to report a death, though the charges were ultimately dropped. Meanwhile, Stacey was previously sent to serve time in a federal prison in Arizona for being a felon in possession of a firearm, per the outlet.
Stacey’s sentence ended on October 30, and it was reported he was expected to be extradited back to Idaho. Meanwhile, Sarah is currently being held in an Idaho prison for an assault case unrelated to Vaughan’s disappearance.
Vaughan went missing from his family home in July 2021. He lived within a few minutes by foot of the Wondras.
Since the 5-year-old’s disappearance, police and volunteer K-9 units have searched hundreds of acres in the area, including around the Wondras’ home, in hopes of finding the young boy’s body. However, he has still not been found.
“The charges are only possible as a result of Fruitland [Police Department]’s unyielding tenacity and perseverance,” Duke said in his recent statement. “They have not ceased to work the case since the crime occurred, and they are continuing to search and investigate so they can bring Michael’s body home.”
In light of the investigation, Vaughan’s mother, Brandi Vaughan, praised the Fruitland police department and Duke’s office as they continue their attempts to figure out what happened to her son.
“Your sheer determination and strength during this whole process as of today has been nothing short of incredible,” she wrote while sharing a copy of Duke’s statement via Facebook, per Fox News.
