Where is Aramazd Andressian Jr.? Inside the frantic search for missing boy

It’s been a month since Aramazd Andressian Jr. vanished.

In that time, authorities have searched around South Pasadena, where his father lives, as well as Orange County and a lake in Santa Barbara County. Rewards have been offered, and the boy’s mother has made a tearful plea for his return.

His father was arrested and later released.

On Thursday, detectives launched a large-scale investigation at a South Pasadena park.

APRIL 15

Frantic mother looks for missing son

Aramazd was last seen about 8 a.m. April 15, when his mother handed him off to his father in Baldwin Park. The mother told detectives she last saw her son on April 18 during a Skype video conversation. The couple are in the process of divorcing, but they share custody of their child.

Aramazd Andressian Sr. and his son are seen in a family photo. (KTLA)

APRIL 22

Father found unconscious; search begins

The boy’s father, Aramazd Andressian Sr., 35, was found unconscious in a South Pasadena park at 6:30 a.m. April 22. He did not have the child, and authorities said he had taken prescription drugs that were not his.

Police interviewed the father, but “his story was all over the place,” authorities said.

Andressian was found with scrapes to his arms and a cut on his head. His gray BMW had been doused with gasoline. Investigators are trying to determine whether the man’s injuries were self-inflicted.

South Pasadena police said Andressian was arrested on suspicion of child endangerment and child abduction.

Los Angeles County sheriff’s detectives search at Cachuma Lake north of Santa Barbara for a missing 5-year-old boy. (Len Wood / Santa Maria Times)

(Len Wood / Santa Maria Times)

APRIL 25

Search moves to lake in Santa Barbara County

Park rangers and deputies from the Los Angeles and Santa Barbara sheriff’s departments on April 25 searched the Cachuma Lake Recreation Area for clues. Investigators had said they suspected the boy’s father visited the lake the Friday before the child was reported missing.

Meanwhile, the boy’s father, who had been held in lieu of $10-million bail after being arrested on suspicion of child endangerment and child abduction, was released from custody.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said it made the decision, along with the South Pasadena Police Department, not to present the case to prosecutors for filing.

APRIL 28

Looking for clues at father’s home

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department executed a search warrant on April 28 at Andressian’s home in South Pasadena.

Police dogs were looking for any evidence that would help deputies find the boy.

Earlier, investigators searched for clues in Orange County, where they think Aramazd had gone to Disneyland with his father.

A sheriff’s flier details the missing child case. (L.A. County Sheriff’s Department)

APRIL 29

‘I am desperate to find my son’

Andressian released the statement through his lawyer: “I am desperate to find my son, Aramazd Jr. and need the public’s help. I hope and pray for the safe return of my only child, my namesake.”

The father remains under suspicion in the boy’s disappearance, but police say the investigation continues.

MAY 3

Reward offered

A $10,000 reward was offered in early May for any information leading to the whereabouts of young Aramazd.

Ana Estevez, center, the mother of Aramazd Andressian Jr., wipes away tears during a news conference. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

(Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

MAY 17

‘I will never stop looking for you’

“It has been 32 days [and] almost three hours since I last hugged my son, kissed him or told him how much I love him,” the boy’s mother, Ana Estevez, said Wednesday during a news conference in which authorities again asked for the public’s help in finding Aramazd.

“My son’s disappearance is my worst nightmare,” she said, adding that she thinks Aramazd is still alive. She told her son to be brave and that she loves him.

“I am counting the days when I will see you again, Honey,” she said. “And I will never stop looking for you.”

Authorities searching park on Thursday. (L.A. County Sheriff)

MAY 18

A return to the park

Deputies returned Thursday to the South Pasadena park where the boy’s father initially was found in order to conduct a large-scale search. Authorities now call the father a “person of interest” in his son’s disappearance, claiming he has given “inconsistent” and “misleading” statements.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500. Those who wish to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.