By Tim Clifford

Wednesday evening, Sep.10, detectives with the Lakewood Police Department intercepted Moua Vang, 31, a Lakewood woman who had been missing since Tuesday, at Sea-Tac airport. Detectives were alerted to Vang having boarded a flight by Homeland Security at the airport.

While detectives were speaking with Vang in the airport she admitted that she had staged her disappearance so that it would look as though she’d been abducted. After making comments about committing suicide Vang was taken to a mental health facility by the detectives.

Vang is married with one child and works as a regular flower vendor at the Lakewood Farmer’s Market. On Tuesday she sold flowers at the market as she normally would and it wasn’t until around 4:30 p.m. when her stall was found still in the process of being taken down, and her family hadn’t heard from her in hours that anyone became concerned.

Around 8:30 p.m. her van was discovered with the doors wide open and the interior ransacked. Her cell phone and keys were also discovered on a seat.

At first glance it appeared that Vang had been kidnapped while at her van. Police immediately issued a bulletin to the media to ask for any information from anyone who may have seen Vang after the market.
In reality Vang had flown out of Seattle (where to has not yet been disclosed) and had a change of heart about leaving. She decided to fly back to Seattle and it was while boarding that return flight that she caught the notice of Homeland Security.

It is unclear what her plans were or why she decided to attempt the hoax in the first place. Lakewood police are set to release more information in the coming days.