RENTON, Wash. — Kelly and Mike Ash’s world has been turned upside down since their son Michael went missing.
The couple says they knew something was wrong based after talking to him over the phone on April 15.
"It was very obvious he was distressed, not acting himself and we knew. That's when the alarm started to go off,” Kelly said.
However, she said her son assured him he wasn’t going to hurt himself. Kelly and her husband encouraged Michael to go to a hospital for help.
According to the Renton Police Department (RPD), they had contact with 35-year-old Michael three times on April 16. That timeline is as follows.
Mike, his father, contacted RPD at 12:08 a.m. on April 16 and requested a welfare check. Officers arrived at Michael’s condo. His car was there, but no one answered the door. Police checked a local hospital but he wasn’t there.
At 1:40 a.m., Michael called 911 and said he was outside the hospital ER because he was having a panic attack. He asked for police to contact him. When an officer called him, Michael said he was in an ER Room and no longer needed assistance.
At 5:51 a.m., Michael called the police again. Officers showed up to where he was and offered resources and a ride to a local hospital, but he declined all offers. RPD says because there were no involuntary criteria, they could not take further action. They told his parents.
At 11:44 a.m., a friend of Michael’s called 911 and told an operator his friend was having a mental breakdown, checked into a hospital, but had left. The friend wanted to report him missing. An officer drove to the area of Michael’s last known location and found him down the street from Valley Medical Center. That officer told him to call his family.
Based on all the interactions and the concern for his mental state, the investigations team initiated a missing person report for Michael. His parents flew in on Tuesday, April 18, on the earliest flight they could get from Massachusetts.
"We thought we'd get to his apartment, we'd find him there and that would be that. He wasn't there,” Kelly said.
Michael’s brother, Cory, flew in a few days after his parents to help with the search efforts. In just a few days, they were able to get the word out about their missing loved one and a tip came that led them to Ron Regis Park in Renton.
"Down in the mulch beds we found a bunch of his personal items,” Cory said. "Couple of his laptops, phones, two jackets."
They’ve since posted fliers in the area and left a note near where Michael’s belongings were found just in case he comes back. The family also found a CVS receipt which shows he was at the CVS Pharmacy at 10712 SE Carr Road in Renton on Monday, April 17. Surveillance video confirms he was there and checked out at 9:31 a.m.
Michael’s family says this is uncharacteristic of him. They describe him as very intelligent, a hard worker, and an all-around good guy. They know he wouldn’t skip out on his job at the University of Washington or miss training sessions at a local dojo unless something was really wrong.
Renton Police urge you to call 911 if you believe you’ve seen Michael Ash in Renton over the last week. The case number is 23-4392.
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