PULLMAN, WA – The three suspects from last year’s local parental kidnapping case that made national headlines have been convicted in federal court.

22 year old Aaron Aung and his father Jaimes both formerly of Moscow and 22 year old former Washington State University student Nadia Cole were convicted Wednesday.  The case involved a national search in June of last year when Aaron failed to return his two year old daughter to her mother in Pullman.  Aung’s parents told Pullman Police that he took his daughter on a fishing trip to Montana.  Aaron and his fiancé Cole instead fled with the child to Mexico.  Jaimes helped his son kidnap the child and tried to help him evade authorities.

Cole was about to board a plane to Italy with her parents as a graduation present when she fled to join Aaron.  Court records show that Cole told her parents that she was going to the bathroom and instead left SeaTac Airport and was later picked up by Aaron.  Documents reveal that federal authorities tracked the trio into Mexico.

In early July Aaron was pulled over by Mexican authorities and Cole was deported back to the U.S.  Aaron and the child stayed in Mexico but were contacted again by authorities a few days later.  Someone called police when they saw Aaron living out of his car with the young child in a bad neighborhood in very hot weather.  Aaron was then deported and the child was returned to her mother in Pullman.

The conviction proceedings took place in U.S. District Court for Eastern Washington in Spokane Wednesday morning.  The Aungs were convicted during a stipulated facts bench trial.  Online federal court documents show that all parties presented the judge with an agreed to document detailing stipulated facts and elements.  The judge then convicted the Aungs on felony international parental kidnapping and conspiracy to commit international parental kidnapping.  The Aungs have been in federal custody.  Cole pleaded guilty to international parental kidnapping during a separate proceeding in federal court in Spokane Wednesday.  All three are set to be sentenced in March.