PULLMAN, Wash. — A man and his father were found guilty of kidnapping the man’s 2-year-old daughter out of Pullman last year.
On May 29, 2024, Aaron Aung and his girlfriend, Nadia Cole, of Port Angeles, abducted Aaron’s 2-year-old daughter from her Pullman home.
Aung had custody of his daughter that weekend, but when it came time to return her to her mother, neither of them showed up.
Several weeks later, the child was found at a roadside checkpoint near Santa Ana, Mexico.
Mexican authorities detained Aung and Cole and handed them over to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The girl was returned to the care of her mother.
In December 2025, both Aaron and his father, Jaimes Aung, were found guilty on federal charges of parental kidnapping and conspiracy to commit kidnapping.
According to court documents, Jaimes sent coded and encrypted text messages to his son about the investigation and how to avoid detection.
Cole has entered a guilty plea to international parental kidnapping.
“An international kidnapping case was new ground for Pullman PD. Officers, detectives, and support staff worked seamlessly with our interstate and federal partners to bring an end to the month of terror imposed on a two-year old Pullman resident and her mother,” said Pullman PD Detective Sergeant Chris Engle.
They are expected to be sentenced on March 25.
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