Is Sky Metalwala Truly 'Missing?'

Remember missing baby Sky Metalwala? He vanished sometime in October of 2011, and still hasn't been located. Sadly, it seems that public interest in this case have dwindled as much as the updates that used to come in frequently about this child's mysterious case. This week's update isn't even one pertaining to the investigation, but it's still the first in many weeks, perhaps months.

Solomon Metalwala, the father of missing 2-year-old Sky Metalwala, made statements expressing that he believes the child is "still out there someplace." The father has been among the only people in the child's family aiming to keep awareness of him in the headlines. He has pushed since the beginning for his child to be found, while his former wife remains silent.

Julie Biryukova—also reported as Julia Biryukova—reported the boy missing in 2011 when she left him alone in a car to retrieve gas. She walked with the boy's 4-year-old sister for over a mile, but when she returned he was gone. From the beginning her story has been full of holes and she has not once addressed the media with anything more than an email.

With it being seven months since the child vanished, it's no surprise to see the mother still out of the spotlight. This has been her normal behavior throughout the course of his disappearance, leading many to speculate that the boy never went missing in the first place. There are several theories as to what happened to the 2-year-old, some of them grim and some of them not-so-grim. The general idea, however, is that baby Sky may not have even been in the vehicle. He may have not even been in custody of the woman for a couple of weeks, as suspected by neighbors and the father.

Could Biryukova have given her child to family overseas to keep him from being taken in the custody battle with Solomon? Possibly, but keep in mind that this woman did absolutely nothing to keep custody of their 4-year-old daughter Maile Metalwala. She didn't show up to any trials, and waived her parental rights without any fight whatsoever. This doesn't seem like the activity of a woman who wants to keep her children away from their father.

Solomon alleged months ago that when he was awarded custody of 4-year-old Maile, she was emaciated and malnourished. That could be indicative of something far more sinister.

Crime analyst and profiler Chelsea Hoffman can be found on The Huffington Post, Chelsea Hoffman: Case to Case and many other outlets. Follow @TheRealChelseaH on Twitter orclick here to contact Chelsea directly.

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