Crime & Safety

Missing Toddler's Father, Solomon Metalwala, Gives In-Depth Interview on KIRO Radio

Solomon Metalwala of Kirkland speaks about the investigation, the contentious divorce with his ex-wife Julia Biryukova and a previous incident of leaving their son, Sky Metalwala, in the car.

The father of missing toddler, Sky Metalwala, Solomon Metalwala spoke to hosts Ron & Don of 97.3 KIRO FM radio Monday.

Sky Metalwala, 2, has been missing since Nov. 6, after his mother, Julia Biryukova, 30, told police she left him in her brother's Acura Integra parked alongside the road in the 2600 block of 112th Avenue Northeast.

Listen to the 97.3 KIRO FM with Solomon Metalwala interview here.

Find out what's happening in Sammamish-Issaquahwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The hosts of the show asked Metalwala about a previous incident when the police were called after he and his then-wife left their son in the car while they were shopping at a Redmond store.

Metalwala said that the parenting classes that he took as part of the plea deal in the previous incident were "beautiful," but that he and Biryukova did not end up taking the classes together.

Find out what's happening in Sammamish-Issaquahwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Metalwala and his attorney, Clay Terry, told the hosts that he hopes that Metalwala will be reunited with his four-year-old daughter, who is currently in foster care, by Christmas.

Biryukova reported their two-year-old son Sky missing Nov. 6. She said she left their home in the in downtown Redmond that morning, and she was taking him to  in Bellevue because he was sick. . 

Biryukova told police she left the sleeping toddler in the car while she and her four-year-old daughter walked about a mile to get gas. When they and a friend returned to the car, the toddler was gone.

Over the weekend, police searched the Kirkland's Watershed Park, though Monday, police told reporters that items found and investigated there were of no significance.

Bellevue police have said that, including the car trouble that she reported. Furthermore, police say that .

Over the weekend, ABC News' Neal Karlinsky reported receiving messages from an email address belonging Biryukova says that Metalwala knows something about the child's disappearance.

"My former husband is a sadistic Muslim Pakistani," the emails stated, according to Karlinsky.

"I’m praying on my hands and knees every day for my Sky," she wrote, in repsonse to Karlinsky asking her via email what would help bring Sky home.

For the record, Solomon Metalwala, who has submitted to Bellevue Police department lie detector tests and has organized searches for his son, is a Christian.

Bellevue police released new photos Friday that investigators say more accurately reflect what Sky and Biryukova look like.

The hosts of the Ron & Don show observed that in the surveillance photos released Friday, Biryukova looks older and more "haggard" than the smiling, vibrant mom pictured in earlier photos released by police and pictured in dating sites.

The hosts asked Metalwala which picture of Biryukova was accurate.

“She has lots of faces. I’ve seen both those faces,” Metalwala responded. “I would say that this (recently released photo) would be a current picture of her.”

To read other stories from Patch's coverage of Sky Metalwala's disappearance, click here.

Sky Elijah Metalwala

  • Age 2, 2’10” tall, 39 pounds, black hair, brown eyes.
  • Sky was last seen on Nov. 6, 2011, in the 2600 block of 112th Ave. N.E., Bellevue, WA.
  • He was last seen wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, black and aqua blue sweatpants and white socks.
  • Sky was in the silver 1998 Acura Integra three door coupe when he disappeared.
  • Police ask anyone who was traveling Sunday morning along 112th Avenue Northeast, between State Route 520 and Northeast 24th Street, to please call the Bellevue Police tip line at 425-452-2564 or by email at pdtipline@bellevue.wa.gov



Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.

More from Sammamish-Issaquah