Police: Mother’s car in missing toddler case had gas in test drive

SEATTLE — The car a woman says ran out of gas — leading to the disappearance Sunday of her 2-year-old son — ran just fine Friday when police took it for a test drive. No gas was added before the test and no mechanical problem was found, police said.

And late Friday a police spokesman said there’s a “real possibility” that Sky Metalwala is no longer alive as the search for the toddler stretches into its sixth day.

More suspicion is falling on his mother, Julia Biryukova, to explain about the car and other discrepancies in her story.

Since reporting her son missing she has been speaking to police through a lawyer and has not responded to requests to speak to investigators voluntarily, Bellevue police Maj. Mike Johnson said.

There’s not enough evidence to name Biryukova as a suspect, Johnson said at a news conference. “At this point, we don’t have it.”

“What we’ve tried to do is present the facts as we see them, and if that cast suspicion on Julia, it’s the facts speaking, not us,” Johnson said.

At what point does she become a suspect? he was asked.

“I don’t have the answer,” he said.

Could she face charges such as making a false report?

“It’s something we’ll look at once the dust settles on the missing person portion of the investigation,” Johnson said.

The disappearance of the boy remains a gnawing problem for more than 150 local and state police and FBI agents. Police say the mother’s story is full of holes. She says she was taking Sky to a hospital when the car stopped, so she left him alone in the unlocked car and took his 4-year-old sister to go for gas. When she returned an hour later, she says, he was gone.

Asked at a Friday afternoon news conference whether Sky could be dead, Johnson said that’s a “real possibility.”

Police have ruled nothing out — maybe he was abducted or maybe he’s lost, Johnson said. But as the days add up, with no sign of the little boy, the chances that he will be found safe are diminishing.

“Unfortunately, the reality of this is that Sky may have fallen onto some very unfortunate circumstances,” Johnson said.

Police continue to receive tips from the public — people who think they saw Sky, mothers who want to help, even psychics. Everything is being checked out of hope that the boy will be found alive.

Sky’s parents had reached a tentative agreement for visitation after a 12-hour mediation session last week. But Biryukova backed out of the agreement on Friday, two days before she reported Sky missing.

The boy’s father, Solomon Metalwala, says 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 4-year-old daughter was taken into the care of state Child Protective Services after her brother was reported missing.

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.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Alan Dean, who is accused of the 1993 strangulation murder of 15-year-old Bothell girl Melissa Lee, appears in court during opening statements of his trial on Monday, March 18, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Guilty: Jury convicts Bothell man in long-unsolved 1993 killing

Even after police arrested Alan Dean in 2020, it was unclear if he would stand trial. He was convicted Thursday in the murder of Melissa Lee, 15.

Ariel Garcia, 4, was last seen Wednesday morning in an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Dr. (Photo provided by Everett Police)
Everett police searching for missing child, 4

Ariel Garcia was last seen Wednesday at an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Drive. The child was missing under “suspicious circumstances.”

The rezoned property, seen here from the Hillside Vista luxury development, is surrounded on two sides by modern neighborhoods Monday, March 25, 2024, in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Despite petition, Lake Stevens OKs rezone for new 96-home development

The change faced resistance from some residents, who worried about the effects of more density in the neighborhood.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Former Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy Jeremie Zeller appears in court for sentencing on multiple counts of misdemeanor theft Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ex-sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 1 week of jail time for hardware theft

Jeremie Zeller, 47, stole merchandise from Home Depot in south Everett, where he worked overtime as a security guard.

Everett
11 months later, Lake Stevens man charged in fatal Casino Road shooting

Malik Fulson is accused of shooting Joseph Haderlie to death in the parking lot at the Crystal Springs Apartments last April.

T.J. Peters testifies during the murder trial of Alan Dean at the Snohomish County Courthouse on Tuesday, March 26, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Bothell cold case trial now in jury’s hands

In court this week, the ex-boyfriend of Melissa Lee denied any role in her death. The defendant, Alan Dean, didn’t testify.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.