Vancouver Police have named the boyfriend a person of interest in the disappearance of a woman and her daughter.
CONTINUING COVERAGE | Court Docs: Boyfriend of missing Vancouver mother released on bail after shooting at her
Melendez's boyfriend, 28-year-old Kirkland Warren, is currently being held at the Clark County Jail on a $1 million bond on new charges of unlawful possession of a firearm and violating an order of protection.
On March 21 a search warrant for a property and vehicle related to Warren was filed by the Vancouver Police Department. Law authorities were seeking to locate guns or knives that could belong to him, his cell phone, photographs, receipts, and DNA swabs.
This isn’t the first time Warren has faced criminal charges.
In December, he was accused of shooting at Melendez’s apartment. He also has a pending case against him for homicide in Arkansas in 2017.
Melendez and her daughter were last seen with Warren on March 12th at the Vancouver Mall.
A representative for the Melendez family, Michelle Bart, says the judge should not have set bail at all.
“The system let him out here in Clark County not too long ago for shooting at the same person that’s now missing,” said Bart, who is the president and founder of the National Women’s Coalition Against Violence and Exploitation (NWCAVE).
“There is probable cause to keep him locked up.”
Echoing that sentiment is Melendez’s friend Makayla Jeter.
“Right now the system is failing Meshay and Layla,” said Jeter.
“What does it have to take?”
Jeter says she’s also angry at Vancouver Police for not being able to find Melendez and her daughter by now.
Vancouver Police Sergeant Julie Ballou says an Amber alert was not sent out.
“It has specific requirements and based on the information we had at the time and when it was received, an Amber Alert was determined to not be helpful,” she said.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” said Jeter.
“If she’s gone I really don’t know.”
The Vancouver Police Department is asking anyone with surveillance systems to check their cameras in the event they captured any of the following vehicles between the dates of 3/11/23 – 3/18/23:
- 2021 maroon Dodge Charger license OR plate 812MWM,
- 1999 white Chevrolet Lumina WA license plate 3A68206
- 2011 white Chrysler 200 WA license plate
The Department says it is actively following up on leads received from both the community as well as evidence recovered as part of the search warrant at the residence of Kirkland Warren following his arrest on March 19th.
If you have any information about Meshay and her daughter’s whereabouts, Vancouver Police ask that you contact Detective Givens at robert.givens@cityofvancouver.us, Detective Nolan at chadd.nolan@cityofvancouver.us, or call 911.