2 Missing Midway City Brothers Turn Up Safe With Bags of Cash

Two Midway City brothers, missing for more than 13 hours as bloodhounds and a helicopter searched for them, turned up safe near a Family Fun Center with two bags containing toys and $12,000 in cash, police said.

A passerby spotted Tuan Nguyen, 10, and his brother, Tonycong, 4, lying in front of the center at Magnolia Street and Warner Avenue about 12:50 a.m. Thursday, and notified police, Orange County Sheriff’s Lt. Jay Mendez said.

The two had disappeared from their Midway City home about 11 a.m. Wednesday, while an uncle who was looking after them went shopping. The uncle returned at 11:30 a.m. to find the doors of the house locked and the boys gone.

The boys’ mother, Hang Dang, 41, picked up the youngsters at the Fountain Valley Police Station early Thursday and took them home. The pair were too sleepy to answer questions about the cash and goods in their possession. The money was being held at the Police Department for safekeeping, Mendez said.

Dang said she had noticed about $800 missing from her home after the boys’ disappearance, but she said the rest of the money was not hers.

The children will be interviewed by an investigator today, Mendez said. “It doesn’t appear to be anything criminal.”