Police Search Home Of Missing South Pasadena Boy's Father

SOUTH PASADENA, CA — Authorities Friday served a search warrant at the South Pasadena home of a man whose 5-year-old son has been missing for about a week.

Investigators went to the home of 35-year-old Aramazd Andressian Sr. to look for possible forensic evidence linked to the child's disappearance, said Deputy Grace Medrano of the Sheriff's Information Bureau.

A specially trained cadaver dog was being used in the search effort, Medrano said.

Ever since Aramazd Andressian Jr. was reported missing, the search has spanned several Southern California counties, recently expanding to Santa Barbara, where authorities searched Tuesday in the Lake Cachuma Recreation Area where the boy may have been with his father on April 21.

Investigators were still working to build a case against Aramazd Andressian Sr., who was released from jail Tuesday after being held in lieu of $10 million after being arrested on Saturday, when he was found unconscious in a park in South Pasadena and could not account for his son's whereabouts.

Authorities have also searched in Orange County, where a gray 2004 four- door BMW owned by Andressian was seen on the morning of April 21 at Disneyland in Anaheim, where he and the boy apparently spent the day on April 20, officials said.

Andressian released a statement through his attorney about his son's disappearance and the investigation Friday that was obtained by several television stations, pleading for the public's help in finding his son.

"I hope and pray for the safe return of my only child, my namesake, who has been missing since last Saturday morning, April 22nd," said Andressian.

Andressian said his son wanted to go to the park that morning before they met with his son's mother for a custody exchange.

"In one moment, I was at the park with my son, and then I found myself waking up in Huntington Memorial Hospital hours later. I was told that a Good Samaritan found me unconscious on the ground near my car, with young Aramazd nowhere in sight. I can only speculate that I must have been attacked in the park, given my unresponsive state and subsequent physical condition," the statement said.

"My family and I are heartbroken and grief-stricken that Aramazd Jr. is missing and may be in harm's way. I am pleading with the public to come forward with any knowledge of Aramazd Jr.'s whereabouts or information regarding the circumstances leading up to his disappearance."

On Saturday morning, Andressian was found passed out next to his car in South Pasadena's Arroyo Seco Park. His son was nowhere to be found. Andressian was taken to a hospital, then arrested on suspicion of child endangerment and child abduction.

Andressian was released from custody Tuesday, with the sheriff's department saying it had decided "not to present the case to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office for filing consideration at this time. The matter remains under investigation."

Sheriff's Capt. Chris Bergner said Andressian's statements "have been convoluted and not consistent."

The boy's mother contacted police at 9 a.m. Saturday to report her son missing. She said her estranged husband, with whom she shares custody of their son, had failed to drop off the child at a pre-arranged meeting place.

The boy was last seen by his mother Tuesday via a Skype video call from an unknown location, South Pasadena police said.

Police dogs from the South Pasadena Police Department and nearby agencies joined in the effort to locate the boy last weekend. Bloodhounds combed Arroyo Seco Park at least twice, and Sierra Madre's search-and-rescue team and the San Gabriel and San Marino police departments also joined the search.

Detectives have been in touch with relatives in Armenia and customs agents, though local police say they do not believe the boy has traveled there.

The child is white, 4 feet 1 inch tall, 55 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a plaid shirt and plaid shorts and has a small mole on the bottom of his right shoulder.

South Pasadena police asked anyone with information about the boy to call them at (626) 403-7297. Sheriff's detectives can be reached at (323) 890- 5500.

City News Service