Missing girl, 6, picked up by mysterious stranger, taken to grandpa’s home

Emily, a 6-year-old Fisher’s Landing girl who got on the wrong school bus Monday afternoon, was reported missing and was found at the same time, about 5 p.m. Monday.

It’s what happened before that which is striking, including that Emily was picked up by an unidentified stranger named “Barbara,” who took her to her grandfather’s home in Washougal, said Sgt. Bill Roberts with the Clark County Sheriff’s Office.

“She saw a 6-year-old girl walking along a busy road and picked her up,” Roberts said Monday evening. “By following a 6-year-old girl’s directions, she took her out to a Washougal address.”

The girl’s mother, Nyssa Maurstad, 27, called 911 about 5 p.m. and said Emily attends Ilahee Elementary School near Southeast 192nd Avenue and First Street. After classes, she was supposed to get on a bus that would take her to a day care facility.

Instead, the mother said, Emily got on the bus that dropped her off at their home, Great Western Mobile Estates along Southeast First.

About 4 p.m., witnesses saw Emily walking to her home. She reportedly found that her mother wasn’t there and the doors were locked, and walked away.

Fifteen minutes later, she was seen walking east on First, Roberts said.

When Emily’s neighbors at Great Western learned Emily was missing, they began knocking on doors with a photo of Emily, in hopes of finding her.

Roberts said he didn’t know why Barbara ended up picking Emily up as she walked east about 10 blocks from home, but she did. And Barbara, following Emily’s directions, delivered her to her grandfather, Duane Maurstad, at his home on Northeast Washougal River Road, about 5 p.m.

“It would be nice to know who this Barbara was, but we don’t have that information,” Roberts said.

John Branton: 360-735-4513 or john.branton@columbian.com.