John Thai Nguyen was three years old when he disappeared from Cincinnati, Ohio, with his four-year-old sister Kristina and their mother, Van Stephanie Nguyen. The family was last seen on April 18, 2002. Stephanie left notes for her husband and parents saying she intended to drive into the Ohio River near the Grand Victoria Casino and end her life and those of her children. On April 19, 2002, her green 1997 Nissan Pathfinder was stopped by an officer in Rising Sun, Indiana; the officer reported seeing two children asleep in the back seat. That was the last confirmed sighting of the family.

In October 2021 the Pathfinder was located submerged in the Ohio River near Aurora, Indiana, in over 50 feet of water. Human remains recovered from the vehicle were identified as Stephanie Nguyen in January 2022. No sign of John or Kristina was found in the car, and both children remain missing. Anyone with information about John or Kristina’s whereabouts is asked to come forward.