Family of missing father desperate for answers; detectives also searching for Brandon Perecz -- but not just because he disappeared
SULTAN -- The family of a Sultan father of three is desperate for answers.
Brandon Perecz hasn't been seen since May 24th. He even missed the birth of his baby boy.
What makes his case unique is that Snohomish County Sheriff's detectives are also trying to find him -- and not just because he's missing.
Where the Sultan and Skykomish rivers meet, the water is cold and especially dangerous, but that’s where Brandon 'Bubba' Perecz was last seen. Deputies say he jumped in to escape arrest. “He just went into the water and pointed his feet downstream and was actively swimming, but moving with the current downstream and that`s the last that the deputy on scene saw him,” said Shari Ireton with The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office. Brandon had a warrant for his arrest and had used the river avoid capture three times before.
His son was born the day after he disappeared.
His fiancé, Michaela Anderson, says Brandon planned to turn himself in after the birth. She's still struggling for answers. “Brandon has a big heart, he does,” she said. “I miss him a lot. I search for him almost every day. It`s taken a toll on me. All I do is search. I feel like if I`m not putting time in with the baby I`m searching and trying to dig for answers."
Michaela filed a missing persons report three days after he didn't come home. “The following day we sent out a Search and Rescue helicopter as well as dive teams to go up and down the river,” says Ireton. “They weren`t able to find anything."
Brandon's family wishes more was done sooner to look for him.
They've been sharing a missing persons poster on Facebook hoping someone has information. “I just really want Brandon to come home,” says Michaela. “If everyone can just keep their eyes open and their ears open and just know that just because he was a criminal doesn`t make him any less of a person than anybody else.”
Major Crimes detectives are working the case and helicopter crews have continued to search the river. Ireton says, "The way it works with missing persons investigation or any kind of search is the last known location and work out from there, so if we can figure out where he was after he left the river that would be extremely helpful.”
Brandon has a lot of family who love and miss him, including his two other kids.
Rumors have run rampant around Sultan about what happened to him, but right now, there are just no solid leads. Michaela says, “I hope that he pops up and that he`s okay and that he comes home, or is found.”
If you have any information that can help Snohomish County detectives find Brandon, you can call an anonymous tip into:
CRIME STOPPERS: 1-800-222-TIPS