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Lifestyle & Human Interest

Unsolved: The Disappearance of 2-Year-Old Sky Metalwala

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On Nov. 6, 2011, a mother in Bellevue, Washington, left 2-year-old Sky Metalwala in the car after she said she ran out of gas. When she returned from her trek to the gas station the little boy was gone.

As investigators delved into the circumstances surrounding the toddler’s disappearance, several facts didn’t match up with the mother’s account and her unwillingness to assist authorities only thickened the cloud of suspicion.

It’s been eight years since his disappearance, but Sky Metalwala’s case remains unsolved.

Sky Metalwala, 2, went missing on Nov. 6, 2011. (NamUs)

What happened on the day of Sky Metalwala’s disappearance?

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Sky’s mother, Julia Biryukova, told investigators that she ran out of gas while Sky was in the car with her, according to KIRO-TV.

Biryukova said she left her 2-year-old son in the car alone while she and her daughter walked to a nearby gas station.

When she returned an hour later, Sky was gone.

When investigators examined the car, however, they learned that there were 2.2 gallons of gas in the tank and found the car to have no mechanical problems.

They also never found a gas can in Biryukova’s car or home.

An intensive search was launched, but it proved to be unfruitful.

Investigators requested an interview with the mother, but she never consented, only further hindering the investigation.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children released this age progression photo in 2017. (NamUs)

What happened before Sky Metalwala disappeared?

Biryukova’s working vehicle and her hesitancy to be interviewed aren’t the only suspicious facts surrounding the case, however.

Only a few days before Sky went missing, his parents, Julia Biryukova and Soloman Metalwala, finalized a bitter divorce.

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In the divorce papers, Metalwala claimed Biryukova had, in KIRO’s words, “told him of dreams she had about killing their children.” Biryukova claimed Metalwala had been abusive to them and her.

The couple was also in the middle of a custody battle for the two children.

The parents’ response to their son’s disappearance only adds to the department’s suspicion that Biryukova has information that could be pertinent to the case.

“Julia spoke with investigators on the day she reported Sky missing, however has since refused to participate in the police investigation,” the Bellevue Police Department wrote in its official blog, the Bellevue Beat Blog, in November 2017. “Sky’s father, Solomon Metalwala, has been an active supporter of the effort to locate Sky.”

A department spokesman told KING-TV in February 2019 that the police believe Biryukova knows where her son is.

If you have any information that could help the Bellevue Police Department solve Sky’s case, please contact Investigations Captain John McCracken at 425-452-7658 or email JMcCracken@bellevuewa.gov.

Liftable, a section of The Western Journal, is sharing unsolved cases, like Sky’s, in hopes of keeping these stories alive and encouraging anyone with new information to contact the proper authorities. To read more of our “Unsolved” series, click here.

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Kayla has been a staff writer for The Western Journal since 2018.
Kayla Kunkel began writing for The Western Journal in 2018.
Birthplace
Tennessee
Honors/Awards
Lifetime Member of the Girl Scouts
Location
Arizona
Languages Spoken
English
Topics of Expertise
News, Crime, Lifestyle & Human Interest




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