Suspect in missing Idaho boy case declared mentally unfit to proceed in court

A judge on Monday declared the woman charged in connection with a missing Idaho boy unfit to proceed in court, records showed.

Sarah Wondra, 35, of Fruitland, was arraigned last week on a felony charge of failure to report a death in the case of Michael Vaughan, who has been missing since July 27, 2021. Michael, who was 5 years old when he disappeared, lived half-a-mile from Wondra’s home, where Fruitland police have spent the last week excavating Wondra’s backyard in search for evidence.

Third District Court Judge Brian D. Lee on Monday ordered Wondra committed to mental health treatment days after ordering a competency evaluation. According to Idaho law, Wondra will remain in Department of Health and Welfare custody for up to 90 days until officials determine whether she’s fit to proceed in the case.

Fruitland police have not said publicly whether they recovered evidence or remains at Wondra’s residence. But in a post on Facebook last week, they said they believe more people know about “the abduction and death of Michael Vaughan.”

According to a probable cause affidavit that was sealed last week after first being posted publicly, Wondra told police executing a search warrant at her home that “the most high God” told her Michael was buried in her yard or her neighbor’s yard, and that her husband, Stacey Wondra, was somehow involved.