Beloved Yakima Boy Gone Missing for 4 Months Has Been Found

Lucian Munguia, a beloved 5-year-old Yakima boy has been missing since September 2022, when he wandered off from his family at Sarg Hubbard Park. The story of his disappearance has pervaded headlines in our small-ish city for four months. We have been covering this story since it began and are devastated to hear that his body has finally been located.

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Numerous media reports, including KIMA-TV, have stated that precious young Lucian’s body remains have been discovered alongside the Yakima River. The Yakima County Emergency Management team and Yakima Police Department have been involved in searching for Lucian since he wandered away from his father around 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, September 10th.

RELATED: Major Search Underway for Missing Yakima Child

The search for Lucian became a city-wide endeavor. Local residents and some small businesses put up Missing Person posters for him all over parts of Yakima, covering telephone poles and covering tip jars. Dive teams and the Washington State Patrol joined in to help search for him for weeks before officially scaling back the search.

There had been many in the public who accused the Yakima Police Department of giving out false information about a secret video with Lucian in it. This led to Yakima Police Chief Murray publicly reiterating that there actually was no secret video of Lucian.

On Friday, December 30th, the Yakima County Police Department issued a news release announcing that skeletal remains had been found and an autopsy and dental record search indicated that the remains could likely be those of young Lucian. DNA testing has been scheduled for a final confirmation.

Our deepest heartfelt sympathies go out to the Munguia parents, siblings, and extended family. We hope that they will receive the utmost emotional support that they all need during this time of grief and that the public will give the family the privacy they are presently requesting. Many in the Yakima community have been sending the Munguia family their condolences via their Facebook page, Finding Lucian.

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