Father closer to winning custody of Sky Metawala's sister

Solomon Metalwala will get custody of his 4-year-old daughter once a protection order is lifted, a family law commissioner ruled on Monday.

"I'm very pleased, and my daughter will be home," said Metalwala, adding that the first thing he'll do when he sees her is "hug her, hug her, hug her and kiss her, kiss her, kiss her.  And tell her how wonderful she is."

The attorney for the father of missing 2-year-old Sky Metawala must first file documents to lift a restraining order that's kept him separated from his kids for 11 months.

The attorney, Clay Terry, said he'll file the papers in the next day or two, with the goal of having 4-year-old Maile Metalwala home with her father by Dec 18th, her birthday, said KIRO 7 Eyewitness News reporter Chris Legeros, who attended a family court hearing in Kent on Monday.

Sky's mother, Julia Biryukova, will have supervised visits with restrictions, said reporter Jeff Dubois, who also attended the custody hearing in Kent.

Biryukova told police she left Sky in her car after running out of gas, and that the 2-year-old was gone when she returned.

 During the hearing, an attorney for the state's Department of Social and Health Services referred to Biryukova as a "person of interest" in Sky's disappearance.

"She's very much a person of interest in the investigation," said Tom Masco of DSHS.  "Law enforcement believes Maile has a lot of information she hasn't disclosed yet."

 Bellevue police, who have been investigating the case since Biryukova reported Sky missing on Nov. 6, have referred to Biryukova as a witness, not as a "person of interest."