A 7-month-old boy has been missing from Vancouver, Washington, since early Monday morning, and the Washington State Patrol says it believes there is a credible threat to his safety. Marcello Martinez was reportedly taken around 5 a.m. Monday by Raul Martinez, according to investigators, and the search for the pair has stretched into a second day.
What Investigators Know So Far
The Washington State Patrol issued a call for information about the missing infant, according to KIRO 7 News, which first reported the case. Investigators believe Raul Martinez is driving a late-1990s red Jeep Grand Cherokee, though the station's report notes that troopers do not currently know the vehicle's license plate number. That gap makes visual identification of the SUV especially important for anyone who may spot the pair on the road.
Clark County authorities and the state patrol are asking anyone who sees Raul and Marcello Martinez to call 911 immediately. Anyone with information but no immediate sighting is asked to call a separate tip line at 360-693-3111. That non-emergency number routes directly to the Clark Regional Emergency Services Agency, which serves as the primary dispatch center for Clark County, per the city of Washougal.
How Vancouver Police Escalate a Missing Child Case
Under Vancouver Police Department policy, a case reaches full AMBER Alert status only when there is a confirmed abduction involving imminent threat of serious bodily harm or death; cases that do not meet that threshold instead become an Endangered Missing Person Advisory, according to the city of Vancouver's public alert procedures. It remains unclear from available information which designation, if any, has been formally applied to Marcello Martinez's case.
When a missing child report comes in, Vancouver police coordinate with the Clark Regional Emergency Services Agency to relay case details to the Washington State Patrol Communication Center, which enters them into the state's Law Enforcement Alerting Portal, per the same city procedures. The Washington State Patrol operates the statewide Missing Children and Endangered Person Clearinghouse under RCW 13.60, maintaining computerized links to national and statewide missing-person databases. State law under RCW 13.60.020 requires local agencies to enter a missing minor's biographical details into that statewide network within six hours of a report.
Potential Legal Exposure If a Custody Dispute Is Involved
Washington law draws a sharp line between custodial interference charges depending on the circumstances of a case. Under RCW 9A.40.060, a relative who takes or conceals a child with intent to deny a parent with lawful custody access to that child can face Custodial Interference in the First Degree, a Class C felony, if the child is exposed to physical risk or taken out of state, according to legal analysis from McKinley Irvin. A lesser charge, Custodial Interference in the Second Degree under RCW 9A.40.070, is a gross misdemeanor for first-time offenders, carrying penalties of up to 364 days in jail and a $5,000 fine, per FindLaw. It is not known from available information whether a custody order exists between Raul Martinez and Marcello Martinez's other parent, or whether any charges have been filed in this case.
Regional Search Complicated by Proximity to Oregon
Vancouver sits in Clark County directly across the Columbia River from Portland, Oregon, placing the search within a bi-state metropolitan corridor where local and state police routinely coordinate cross-border alerts with Oregon authorities during vehicle searches, as KGW has reported in past regional cases. Whether Oregon authorities have been formally asked to assist in locating the red Jeep Grand Cherokee in this case is not yet known.
Historical data from the Washington State Patrol's Missing Children Clearinghouse shows the state fields thousands of missing juvenile reports each year, with family abductions and custodial interference accounting for roughly 5% to 10% of those cases, while the vast majority of reported missing youth are runaways. Anyone who spots Raul or Marcello Martinez is urged to call 911 right away, and anyone with other information can reach investigators through the Clark County tip line noted above.
