Group pushing for missing boy's father to be reunited with daughter
SEATTLE -- A national family advocacy group is urging Washington state agencies to reunite the sister of missing boy Sky Metalwala with her father.
Glen Sacks, executive director of Fathers and Families, said there is no reason for the 4-year-old girl to have to stay in foster care.
"Solomon Metalwala has been separated from his daughter for almost a year now based on charges that have been discredited, certainly charges made by his accuser - his ex-wife - who has been completely discredited," he said.
The girl was taken away from her mother, Julia Biryukova, after her 2-year-old brother disappeared last month.
Biryukova said Sky disappeared after she left him alone in an unlocked car while she went to go seek help with her daughter after the car ran out of gas. Investigators later determined the car's gas tank was not empty.
Sacks said if Biryukova can not take care of her daughter, the girl should be handed over to her father, Solomon Metalwala, instead of the state.
"How on Earth could it not be detrimental for a scared little girl to be housed with strangers instead of being with the father she loves and needs? I think any parent can relate to that," said Sacks. "The daughter should've immediately been given to her father."
Solomon Metalwala is scheduled to have a custody hearing next Monday, and Sacks hopes the court will rule in favor of the father.
"We are trying to apply pressure to the relevant agencies there in Washington to reunite this father and his daughter," he said.
Solomon Metalwala has said Biryukova suffers from severe obsessive-compulsive disorder and goes on cleaning binges in which she wouldn't feed the children. But a doctor said her diagnosis didn't interfere with her ability to care for the kids.
The two were amid a bitter divorce and custody battle when Sky disappeared.
The family has a previous record of leaving Sky alone in a car in a store parking lot in Redmond when he was 3-months old. Court records show he was alone for nearly an hour on a 27-degree day in December 2009 before police had the car owner's paged.
Police cited both parents for reckless endangerment. The case was dismissed early this year after the couple completed a year's probation, community service and a 10-week parenting class.
Investigators said they have received hundreds of tips in the boy's disappearance, but no arrests have been made and no suspects have been named.
Glen Sacks, executive director of Fathers and Families, said there is no reason for the 4-year-old girl to have to stay in foster care.
"Solomon Metalwala has been separated from his daughter for almost a year now based on charges that have been discredited, certainly charges made by his accuser - his ex-wife - who has been completely discredited," he said.
The girl was taken away from her mother, Julia Biryukova, after her 2-year-old brother disappeared last month.
Biryukova said Sky disappeared after she left him alone in an unlocked car while she went to go seek help with her daughter after the car ran out of gas. Investigators later determined the car's gas tank was not empty.
Sacks said if Biryukova can not take care of her daughter, the girl should be handed over to her father, Solomon Metalwala, instead of the state.
"How on Earth could it not be detrimental for a scared little girl to be housed with strangers instead of being with the father she loves and needs? I think any parent can relate to that," said Sacks. "The daughter should've immediately been given to her father."
Solomon Metalwala is scheduled to have a custody hearing next Monday, and Sacks hopes the court will rule in favor of the father.
"We are trying to apply pressure to the relevant agencies there in Washington to reunite this father and his daughter," he said.
Solomon Metalwala has said Biryukova suffers from severe obsessive-compulsive disorder and goes on cleaning binges in which she wouldn't feed the children. But a doctor said her diagnosis didn't interfere with her ability to care for the kids.
The two were amid a bitter divorce and custody battle when Sky disappeared.
The family has a previous record of leaving Sky alone in a car in a store parking lot in Redmond when he was 3-months old. Court records show he was alone for nearly an hour on a 27-degree day in December 2009 before police had the car owner's paged.
Police cited both parents for reckless endangerment. The case was dismissed early this year after the couple completed a year's probation, community service and a 10-week parenting class.
Investigators said they have received hundreds of tips in the boy's disappearance, but no arrests have been made and no suspects have been named.
