Kirkland father Solomon Metalwala lives life like his son Sky is still with him. Though the boy went missing two years ago when he was 2 years old, Metalwala said most everything he does every day involves his son.
“We’re doing life like Sky’s still with us. We do life like Sky’s right here,” said Metalwala, who lives in Kirkland with his daughter, Maile. “I’ll ask (my daughter) ‘do you think Sky might like this ice cream?’ and she says, ‘yeah, he’ll like it.'”
He said his family will not take Sky “out of the family picture. That will not happen. No one has the right, they cannot steal that from us and we will not let them. That’s how we keep Sky in the family and that’s how we live our life every day loving our Sky like he’s still here.”
Sky was reported missing by his mother Julia Biryukova on Nov. 6, 2011 in Bellevue after she reportedly ran out of gas. The Redmond resident told police that she left Sky in her car and walked with her daughter to get help and when she returned the boy was gone.An intensive search took place, but the boy was not located.
Two years later, Metalwala said “today is just like yesterday. It feels like I just hurt that he’s missing. That’s where I am because we don’t know what happened to him. We have no evidence at all.”
He said his daughter also misses her brother “like there’s no tomorrow.”But his strong faith in God has helped him keep a positive outlook.
“I’m a strong believer in Jesus, I know what the Lord can do, for whatever reason this has not come to pass,” said Metalwala, who plans to hold another vigil for his son some time next month. “I’m just going to keep believing that God is watching over this and will make things right in his own time.”
On Nov. 10, 2012, about 65 people sang and prayed, hugged each other and cried and released 369 blue balloons to mark the amount of days Sky had been missing during a gathering at Downtown Park in Redmond.
He said he has not heard from Biryukova, but has prayed for her.
“If she can just remember who made her,” Metalwala said of the boy’s mother. “If she can know that God saw what she did — it’s not a secret to him. Is God just waiting? We don’t really know, but we know he’s very merciful, he’s very patient.”
Metalwala and his attorney Clay Terry said they believed the boy may be with a friend or family member of Biryukova, according to a story the Reporter published on Jan. 9, 2012. Metalwala hopes police will keep actively searching for his son. He urges concerned residents to send letters to the Bellevue Police Department, calling on officials to keep Sky’s case open.
Bellevue and Redmond police detectives are still assigned to the missing child case. To date, investigators have pursued more than 2,200 tips and leads in this case, according to a Bellevue police news release. Investigators continue to seek the public’s help in locating Sky.
“All leads to date have been exhausted. Any new lead that comes to us is followed up immediately,” said Major Pat Spak, commander of Investigations at the Bellevue Police Department. “We want to find this child.”
If anyone has any information regarding this case, they are urged to contact the Bellevue Police Department by sending an email to pdtipline@bellevuewa.gov or calling (425) 452-2564.
