The views and opinions expressed in Cold and Missing are exclusively those of the hosts. All parties mentioned are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Cold and Missing also contains adult themes and languages. Listener discretion is advised. I'm your host, Ali McLaughlin -Sulkowski. And I'm your co -host, Eli Sulkowski. And this is Cold and Missing, where we cover cold cases and missing person cases. Hello, everyone,
and welcome back to Cold and Missing. I'm your host, Ali, and it will just be me coming to you this week. Eli is still working on that production and is in rehearsal this evening, so that's where he is. But I still wanted to get on here and bring you a brand new episode. Just really quickly at the top, we had several kind reviews come in over this last week. So thank you so much. And I'm just going to take a minute here at the top to just plug it. If you can, leave us a review,
five stars. It really goes a long way for other people to listen to the podcast. And it's not really about downloads or numbers for us. We do not have any. ads or sponsorships. So for us, it's really about just getting more people to listen to the podcast and get these stories out here. That's really what the mission of the podcast is. So five stars, it like helps the algorithm suggest the show to people who might
like it and helps people take a chance. You know what you're looking for whenever you're looking for a new podcast. So if you could, it means so much, but I get it. Everybody's busy. So maybe this week, maybe next week, but really appreciate it if you can take the time. With that being said, we're just going to go ahead and jump into this week's episode. This week, we are talking about the missing person case of Khoi’s Dang Vu. And this takes place in April of 2007 in Clark
County, Washington. But first, a little bit about Khoi. Khoi Dang Vu was 25 years old in the spring of 2007. Khoi was born deaf and did not speak. He also lived with developmental disabilities. His family shared that he functioned at about a level of a 10 -year -old child. He knew some American Sign Language but was not fluent in it. Communication for Khoi wasn't always easy, but he was able to get his point across. If he was able to get a piece of paper, he would usually
write to communicate. But still, Khoi was social. He was friendly. He was trusting in a way that was really beautiful, but also in a way that worried his family. He loved meeting new people. He would often go to the local Albertson supermarket, where he would approach strangers with a piece of paper. On it, he had written a short introduction that said, Hi, my name is Khoi, and he would ask others to tell him something about themselves. His brother -in -law, Josh, says, quote, He was
very friendly, very trusting, very happy. He would approach anyone. He'd walk up to you and hand you a note. Khoi loved basketball. He spent time at the local playground shooting hoops and riding his bike around the neighborhood. His bike was his main mode of transportation. He was known in the community. People recognized him, and many people knew how to interact with him and how to understand him. He lived at home with his family on Northwest 92nd Street in Orchards,
Washington. He lived with his parents, his sister, and brother -in -law. The family had immigrated to the United States from Vietnam in 1990, building a life together. Khoi did not know any Vietnamese. He only could communicate in English. At 25, Khoi had brown eyes and black hair. He was around 5 '6 and weighed about 108 pounds. And now, a timeline of events. Friday, April 6, 2007. So that Friday was normal, according to Khoi’s family. Khoi spent the evening in his mother's room, sitting
with her, watching TV. The next day, the family had plans. They were going to drive to Seattle to visit Khoi’s older brother and celebrate his mom's 68th birthday. Khoi was very excited about the trip. At one point, he showed his mom the gift he had bought for her. He was proud of it, especially how well he had wrapped it. He was showing it off. His brother -in -law, Josh, says, quote, he seemed to be very excited about the trip. Sometime between midnight and 1 a .m.,
Khoi left his mother's room to go to bed. This would be the last time anyone saw him. So Saturday, April 7th, 2007. So like I said, sometime between midnight and 1 a .m., Khoi said goodnight. to his family and went to bed. Overnight, a storm moved through the area. It was a really bad storm. Lots of wind, rain, thunder. Conditions that would have made it difficult or even dangerous to be outside. The next morning, the family went to wake Khoi for the family trip. He wasn't in
his room. At first, there was immediate confusion. Khoi had wandered off before. but only ever during the daytime and only ever in good weather. He often went on his bike, and he would always come home within a few hours. But this felt very different from the beginning. Khoi’s jacket, the one he always wore and his favorite jacket, was still hanging in the closet. His bicycle was still in the garage. The helmet was hanging with it.
His brother -in -law, Josh, says, quote, The jacket he normally wears is hanging in his closet. His bike's still sitting in the garage and his helmet is still sitting there. It seems like he changed clothes sometime between going to bed and leaving the house. No one knows exactly what Khoi was wearing when he disappeared. There are no signs of forced entry to the home. By 8 a .m., the family had called police to report
him missing. When police are called, a search is launched almost immediately around the area of the home. It's truly believed at this point that Khoi had wandered off, even though it was unlike him to go in the middle of the night and to go in very bad weather. That didn't make sense to the family, but still, that was what police were operating under at first. So the first day, it appears that a search is done around the house,
but no clues are found about Khoi. The next day, Sunday, April 8th, a large search began almost immediately at daybreak. Family, friends, local law enforcement agencies were all there to help cover area. Again, they focused on areas around the home. And they paid specific attention to areas where maybe somebody would hide or stay to... get out of the rain to stay dry or warm.
So they focus on that, and they also ask the public to check their outbuildings and cars to see if Khoi maybe wandered into them to get out of the weather since it was so bad the night he disappeared. Still, after a full day of searching on Sunday, there's no evidence of what happened to Khoi, no sign of him. By Monday, April 9th, so this is three days that he's been missing, the search has expanded. The FBI joins the investigation officially. It's unclear exactly what prompts
the FBI to join the investigation. According to police, the FBI offered their help and so they just accepted the extra manpower. Again, investigators stress to the public that they should check their own properties. In their backyard, sheds, outbuildings, parked cars, just to make sure that Khoi didn't wander into them. While investigators are working on searching different areas, Khoi’s family is working on getting his picture out there. So they pass out flyers, especially
around Albertson's grocery stores. It was a place Khoi knew and a place that he was very familiar with. They believe that if he saw one, he would likely go to it and try to ask for help. Slowly, tips started coming in from the public. There were some possible sightings near an elementary school, but this didn't end up panning out, according to reports. There were also some reports of him in the greater Portland area. And again, police follow up, but they weren't able to verify if
it's him. Police say, quote, there's nothing that indicates foul play at this point, but we won't rule it out. His family, however, is more and more concerned with each passing day. His brother -in -law, Josh, says, quote, we're trying to remain positive. It's difficult for the family because he needs help. He can't survive on his own. On Tuesday, April 10th, so this is four days now, the search continues. The FBI and local investigators began looking deeper, questioning
registered sex offenders in the area. They also explored whether Khoi could have had any contact online. While his family had never taught him how to use a computer, there was one in the home, so it was an avenue they were looking at. Other teams sent divers into nearby ponds to search them. And still nothing. Sergeant Tim Bieber says, quote, It's certainly concerning that it's gone so long, with so many experienced investigators
working on this. The next day, Wednesday, April 11th, so five days now, no confirmed sightings. All of the tips seem to have dried up. Again, Sergeant Tim Bieber says, quote, it's day number five and we're very concerned. We're all waiting for the phone call saying, hey, we've got something big here. But the phone call never comes. The search continues for days after this, but the next real big development comes on Sunday, April 22nd. So it's been 16 days that Khoi has been
missing. And the family and investigators announced that there's now a $1 ,000 reward for information leading to Khoi. A few days after this, on Friday, April 27th, so 21 days, three weeks, Khoi has been missing, investigators officially reclassified the case as a criminal investigation. Sergeant Tim Bieber says, quote, if he just walked away and was just a missing person, he probably would have turned up by now. or some evidence of where
he was at would have turned up by now. Police revealed that they were speaking to a person of interest, but they don't release a name. They also confirmed that all registered sex offenders within a two -mile radius of Khoi’s home had been ruled out. The next day, Saturday, April 28th, so 22 days Khoi has been missing, Police continue questioning this person of interest, but refuse to release a name or identity, or even to confirm if it's just one person or maybe multiple people
that they're talking to. Again, police say, quote, After this amount of time, it looks more and more like there's something more to this case. There's definitely something wrong, and we have to assume it's criminal in nature. Khoi’s family, however, is left in limbo. The family says, quote, It's another stressor in life. It's good sometimes, and it's rough sometimes. We're all wondering, we're hoping, we're distraught and frustrated.
In June of 2007, so two months Khoi has been missing, the reward was increased to $5 ,000, but still no real developments in the case. In January of 2008, so nine months Khoi has been missing, investigators began to say publicly what many had feared. that they believe Khoi Dang Vu was the victim of a homicide, even though they still
have never found his body or any evidence. At some point, according to investigators in Clark County, detectives came to believe that Khoi's body may have been disposed of in a dumpster, one that was later taken to a landfill near Boardman, Oregon. How this information comes about in Khoi's case is never really made clear. by investigators or that I could find. And that's really the last update we get. Over the years, Khoi’s case has been in the media, but no real developments,
no suspects have ever been named. And his body has never been found. So if you know anything about the disappearance of Khoi Dang Vu or his whereabouts today, please call the Clark County Sheriff's Office at 564 -397 - So that is the missing person case of Khoi Dang Vu. When I first discovered Khoi's case, I was really shocked about how little information there was, but at the same time how there seemed to be a lot of
details in the case. So it kind of seemed like there was this kind of juxtaposition of... kind of this known answer of what happened to him but without having a lot of details around the case. So that's something that I was really confused by and wanted to try to sort out for myself which is why I really wanted to look into this case and then I knew it was a case that I wanted to bring to Cold and Missing. It fits right into
all the other cases that we cover here. It is a more unique missing person case and that police do believe very firmly here that it is a homicide and even seem to have an idea of what happened, but no body and still is classified as a missing person case slash homicide case. Very interesting overall. And then, you know, hand in hand with wanting to know more about this case, it's just also the tragedy of this case for this family.
Khoi was someone who needed his family and needed the support of his family to really thrive the way that he was. He was living such an incredible life, it seems like. He was involved in his community. He was out. He'd ride his bike all over the place, enjoyed meeting new people. And it seemed like the community kind of watched out for him and knew how to talk to him and, you know, understand him. So he was really in such a supportive place
and seemed to be thriving. And because he was deaf and had developmental disabilities, the support of his family is so crucial in his ability to thrive and for him to be taken away from his family, from his support, from his community.
It just seems cruel on such a level that feels um more rare it just it it really leaves me almost speechless it I'm having trouble finding words to describe how tragic and just evil it feels like that somebody would go after Khoi and create harm in his world it's yeah it really almost leaves me speechless quite truly. But it leaves
me with a lot of questions as well. So just to kind of get into some of the questions that I know I have in this timeline and just to talk about that a little deeper, I am very interested if I could sit down and kind of know anything about this case, about how this case shifts. It's really about at that three -week mark that that's when investigators you know, shifted to a criminal investigation. And part of that makes
a lot of sense. You know, their rationale in the beginning, they say that it's because, you know, if he had wandered off, they would have found signs of him. I mean, they have seasoned investigators. They have the FBI resources. They would have found some sign of what happened to him. But from my understanding, no evidence was
found of. where he went I mean what direction he could have even gone in it doesn't even seem like we know how he got out of the house the only thing we really know is you know he goes to bed between midnight and 1 a .m it does seem like it's closer to maybe 1 a .m that's how it's initially reported in the beginning and then they go to wake him up at around 8 a .m and he's gone his brother -in -law says that it does seem like He had changed clothes, but we never know
what kind of clothes he was wearing. So I'd be very curious if we ever determined that. Did they go through his closet and see, you know, was a shirt missing that he always wore? What was missing from his closet if he did change clothes? Were any clothes missing from his closet? There is some reports that it looked like his bed had not been slept in. So that drives even more questions. Did he get into the bed that
night at all? Did he get into his, it seems like he got into his room if he changed his clothes. So what happened in there? So many questions, so many questions. Police think that after, you know, about three weeks, they haven't found any evidence, something criminal must have happened. The family. believes that something criminal must have happened kind of from the beginning because it was so unlike him to leave the house
in the middle of the night. Police say they have a person of interest that they're talking to around this same time. I'd be curious if police were ever able to rule that person out, if that's still a person of interest in this case. I'd be curious if anybody else has popped up over the years, you know, since 2007, 2008. Has anybody else come across police radar that could be responsible
for this? And then, to me, it seems like one of the biggest questions is the bombshell that comes right at the end of the timeline, that it is a homicide investigation and police believe that Khoi’s body was placed in a dumpster and ultimately taken to a landfill. I tried to look for reports of if this landfill had ever been searched, and I couldn't find any media reporting
that police searched the landfill. It doesn't mean that it didn't happen, but from my understanding, landfill searches tend to be very difficult and require a lot of, like, police presence, just like a lot of manpower to make them happen and to make them effective. You know, it is reported on by the media just because such a large police presence. But I couldn't find any reporting that they had ever gone out there from 2007, 2008,
2009 to search the landfill for Khoi. It seems like they go out there like there's a prisoner who escapes years later, like in the 2015, 2016 times. So they search the landfill for him. But that's really the only. time I could find the landfill being searched. So I would be curious to know if that ever happened in Khoi’s case. But really, even before all of that, I would be curious to know exactly where that information came from. Because while it's vague, it's also
very specific of what happened. We don't have the specific details of maybe specifically what building or dumpster it could be but it's it's a pretty specific story of what happened to him and where did police get that story did that come from the person of interest did that come through a rumor mill like how how did that get to be part of his story that seems incredibly unclear to me I really tried to find What made police pivot to this story in those months, but
I could not find anything outside of police just saying, this is what we believed happened. My hopes in this case, of course, my ultimate hope is that resources could be put towards Khoi’s case and they search the landfill. If that's where they think he is, then to me, I feel like let's put the resources to... bringing him home. Let's get him out of there and get him to his family and a place to rest. It feels so cruel to have an idea of where he may be, but just
not doing it. And maybe it's really naive of me to think that it can be done. I know it would be very difficult to find his body if that's where it is, but it seems cruel and unfair to not even try. I think his family deserves the effort of at least trying. And, you know, it's like every passing day, it just is going to make it more and more difficult. So ultimately, that's my hope in this case is that resources are put to bring him home. If we have an idea of where
he's at, that that's what we do. And then if we're not able to do that, if we can't. get him out of there and bring him home then let's put the resources to bringing justice to his case a homicide happened here someone very vulnerable it seems like was taken out of their home the night before a family trip and murdered so if someone is responsible for that then they should be held accountable for that and I do just want to stress because police say that this is a homicide.
That's what they say. Looking at, you know, the Clark County government website on Khoi’s case, they say it's a homicide. So it's not like they think that this was an accident where Khoi wandered off in the night and then the bad weather hit. So he needed to get out of the rain and he got into a dumpster. you know, somehow suffocated or was crushed, killed in an accident manner. That's not what police are saying happened here. Very firmly, I think they're saying that's not
what happened here. They do believe that it's homicide in nature. Khoi is a missing person. We do not have his body. He has not come home to his family. And ultimately, I think we just need to put resources towards this case. If we can't bring him home, then let's get... justice for him. Let's have somebody answer for what they did because this is a heinous and cruel
crime what happened to Khoi. So again if you know anything about the disappearance of Khoi Dang Vu in April of 2007 or his whereabouts today please call the Clark County Police at 564 -397 -2036. We will have some pictures of Khoi on our Instagram, at coldandmissing. If you're not, please follow us there. We always post the cases that we're covering, of course, but then in our stories, any active missing person cases, things happening in the here and now, we always share
as they come across the feed. So it's just a really good resource for what's happening kind of in the true crime community. And if we ever need to take a week off, of course, we'll update you on the Instagram. If you or someone you love is hard of hearing, we have official transcripts on our website, www .coldandmissing .com. It is the official transcript, so I go through and I make sure that all of the spelling is correct.
I don't have any control over some automatic transcripts and podcast players, but if you're looking for official transcripts with official spelling, they are on our website, www .coldandmissing .com. And like I said at the beginning, if you could just take some time to leave us a review, these cases get out there, cases like Khoi’s So if you've never heard of Khoi's case, maybe leave us five stars, drop us a kind written review. It would mean the world to us. And you can also
review us on our website, www .coldandmissing .com. So, you know, if your podcast player doesn't have any ratings, but you'd still love to leave one, you can do it there. And again, I just appreciate you. If you have taken the time to leave us a review in the past, comment on an episode, or are thinking about doing it or doing it right now, thank you. I really do appreciate it. And I believe it's advocacy work. So thank you. But that is all I have for you. Thank you so much
for listening to Cold and Missing. I'm your host, Ali. Have a good week and stay safe, y 'all. Thank you.