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Breadson John: Boy, 8, missing from Washington state since June 2022 found in Missouri, FBI reveals

Breadson John had gone missing on June 17, 2022, when his absence was confirmed during a welfare check at his home in Vancouver, Washington

JOPLIN, MISSOURI: A boy who went missing from Washington state for at least eight months was found safe and sound in Missouri, the FBI revealed. Deputies reportedly found Breadson John in Jasper County near Joplin on Friday, February 17. 

The eight-year-old boy had gone missing on June 17, 2022, when his absence was confirmed during a welfare check at his home in Vancouver, Washington, just across the state line from Oregon. The FBI noted in an earlier statement that community members had "concerns for his welfare" so Vancouver police detectives dispatched to check on the boy, but couldn't locate him.

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Grandparents charged

In December 2022, Vancouver authorities said family members contacted by them had not provided information about John's whereabouts. That same month, investigators filed charges of custodial interference against his grandparents, who Vancouver police say were the child's last known guardians and persons of interest in the initial criminal investigation. "Since June 2022, Vancouver Police Detectives have attempted to contact multiple family members to determine if Breadson is with family or is truly missing. To date, the family members that have been contacted have not provided investigators information related to the whereabouts of Breadson and he has not been located," Vancouver Police Department said in a statement at the time.

Boy found

John was ultimately found unharmed on Friday with the help of sheriff's deputies in Jasper County, Missouri. The FBI did not reveal what he was doing there, how he ended up there, or what he had been up to since he went missing. “Breadson’s recovery would not have been possible without the combined efforts of the Vancouver Police Department, FBI Kansas City, and the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office,” Special Agent Richard A. Collodi from the FBI’s Seattle Field Office said in a press release, adding, “We are relieved at this outcome and how quickly we were able to resolve it.”

Multilingual Pacific Islander

The FBI discovered John had been taken to Jasper County in August 2022, a tip that led up to last week's successful recovery. Following his disappearance, the agency said he had ties to or might visit Hawaii, Arizona, Washington, or the Federated States of Micronesia. According to the boy's FBI missing poster, he is of Pacific Islander descent, with black hair and brown eyes, and was born in Hawaii on October 17, 2014. Breadson also goes by his nickname Brxsan and speaks English and Chuukese, also spelled as Trukese, a native tongue of the Federated States of Micronesia. The bureau issued a new missing poster for the child about a month ago.

However, photos of John on FBI records now include the word "recovered." Meanwhile, staffers from Washington Child Protective Services are reportedly heading to Kansas City to bring the boy back to Washington. It's worth noting that an estimated 460,000 children are reported missing every year in the US, according to data from the National Crime Information Center.