On August 26, 2024, 62-year-old Monty Reuling went missing from a treatment facility in Arizona City, AZ. I was hired by his daughters and began working the case on August 29th. Monty had been struggling with withdrawal symptoms and became paranoid, believing he was not in a safe environment and that people were trying to harm him.

Overcome by paranoia, Monty checked himself out of the treatment facility. He left without a phone, money, food, or water, in 114-degree Arizona heat, and 70 miles from home, with no form of transportation. The facility did call 911 to report that Monty had left and expressed their concern. The Pinal County Sheriff’s Office made contact with Monty, but he refused their help, and since he was an adult, they stated that he could make his own decisions.

After this encounter, Monty left his suitcase at a nearby Dollar General Store after purchasing $4.00 worth of items with his debit card, which was never used again. The following day, I obtained surveillance footage from a Family Dollar store just north of the Dollar General, where Monty had asked to use the phone, but they refused. Later, I found footage from a car wash about 3/4 of a mile north of the Family Dollar. This footage, captured at 7:39 PM, showed Monty having some sort of episode, flailing his arms and dangerously veering into the street, nearly getting hit by cars.

Our efforts included canvassing Arizona City on foot, conducting drone missions, following up on eyewitness reports, seeking out Ring camera footage, and checking hospitals and psychiatric centers. However, we couldn’t get further confirmation of Monty’s whereabouts—until August 30th, when, sadly, Monty was found in an irrigation canal north of Arizona City.

This was truly heartbreaking. I watched his family search tirelessly for Monty, with relatives flying in from around the country. Since Monty’s passing, his devastated daughters have done a few interviews, like the one below, hoping to raise awareness about the risks of allowing patients to self-discharge from facilities when they have no transportation or loved ones to assist them—especially when they are clearly in distress. This is a senseless tragedy that could have been prevented, but too often, facilities either adhere too strictly to HIPAA guidelines or use HIPAA as a crutch to avoid doing more to help vulnerable individuals.

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