Three decades later, North Texas family still seeks answers in boy’s disappearance

By Erin Jones

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    NORHT TEXAS (KTVT) — Today marks 32 years since a Garland 8-year-old vanished from his home.

All these years later, his family is still searching for answers.

A day etched in memory July 18, 1993, is a day etched in Rudolph Nguyen’s memory forever. He recalls the moment his wife told him the worst news he’d ever receive: their son was missing.

“She says oh, hunny, Kim is missing,” he said. “I don’t know, I can’t find him anywhere. I just go to the bathroom, the restroom, and I come out and he’s gone.”

Kim had autism and was non-verbal. His father jumped in his car and started looking.

“Run around the neighborhood asking everybody around here, but nobody see him,” he said.

A desperate search, a tragic find For nearly two weeks, his family, neighbors and police searched desperately. Then Kim’s remains were found miles away, in a field in Mesquite.

“I wanted to come and see him, but a lot of people held me back and said no, don’t see,” Nguyen said. “It’s terrible.”

Nguyen said the medical examiner ruled his son’s death a homicide. Police had a possible vehicle of interest, but the lead went nowhere.

“I keep coming, asking them, they said they’re working on it but finally, they have no answers,” Nguyen said.

City declares “Kim Nguyen Day” To bring more attention to the case, Garland’s mayor has declared today “Kim Nguyen Day.” Garland Crime Stoppers is offering a $5,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest and indictment.

“Most of our Crime Stoppers board members are parents and most of them also were in Garland and residents of Garland when this happened,” Vice President Carissa Dutton said. “To know that it’s unsolved really just bothers a lot of our members.”

“I think somebody kept quiet at that time and hopefully they’ll change their mind,” Nguyen said.

The Nguyen family is still holding out hope that someone knows what happened.

A brother’s lasting heartbreak “It was very hard,” Michael Nguyen said. “I wish I could have saved him. I wish I could have saved him.”

Michael is Kim’s older brother.

“I just think about it all the time,” he said. “My sister — all the time. My dad — all the time. Uh, it’s hard.”

Community shows support with ribbons Now, more than three decades later, the community is tying pink ribbons in Kim’s neighborhood. It’s a sign to his family that he hasn’t been forgotten and that they, too, want answers.

“Pink represents The Pink Panther, he loved Pink Panther,” Michael said.

“Even if we don’t find the killer, it’s the effort that everybody has tried,” Nguyen said. “All these people just want to find justice.”

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