Reward doubled to find 5-year old missing South Pasadena boy

SOUTH PASADENA, Calif. (FOX 11 / CNS) - Five-year-old Ara Andressian Junior has been missing for almost a month now.

The last confirmed sighting of the child was on April 20th at Disneyland where he went with his father and grandmother. According to police, they all left the park together but they don't know what happened to the child after that.

Two days later his father, Ara Andressian Sr., who was in the middle of a divorce and custody battle with Ara's mother, was found, reportedly unconscious, at Arroyo Seco Park in South Pasadena.

In a written statement, he would later say he had gone to the park with his son that morning where he believes he was attacked. What happened to the child next, a mystery.

And now, in new information you'll only see on FOX 11 News, we've learned that Ara Andressian's BMW, found at the park...was doused in a flammable liquid - most likely gasoline. And that the gas tank of the car was reportedly tampered with.

That led original investigators on the scene to believe it may have been a failed suicide attempt.

But again Andressian has said he believes someone attacked him.

Who doused Andressian's BMW in gasoline and why?

And more importantly where is little Ara?

The reward for information leading police to find the child has now been up to $20,000. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Tuesday doubled what had been a $10,000 reward in hopes of generating tips.

Supervisor Kathryn Barger recommended the increase at the request of detectives working the case and urged the public to come forward with any "information (about) any person who may be concealing the child or who may have information about the child's disappearance or whereabouts."

The search for Aramazd Andressian Jr. has spanned several Southern California counties, including Santa Barbara, where authorities searched in the Lake Cachuma Recreation Area, where the boy may have been with his father on April 21.

The child is white, 4-feet-1 and 55-pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a plaid shirt and plaid shorts and has a small mole on the bottom of his right shoulder.

On Wednesday, the child's mother is expected to make a plea to the public for the return of her son.

South Pasadena police asked anyone with information about the boy to call them at (626) 403-7297. Sheriff's detectives can be reached at (323) 890-5500.

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