Newton, IL-(Effingham Radio)- The following has been released by the Missing Persons Awareness Network on their website:
The parents, Stephen & Monica are both missing, along with their young children Aiden & Nicholas. There has been no eyes on any of them, or any contact since they were last seen February 10, 2023, at their residence in Newton, Illinois. That afternoon, a U-Haul was seen at the residence, attached to the pick-up truck Stephen drives. None of the family, neighbors or friends were told by any of them that they were leaving, where they were going, or when they would return. The electricity at the residence was shut off soon after.
The father, Stephen Lutz was required to stay away from his wife during a bond release requirement, caused by domestic violence issues within the family January 2023. During this incident, the children were in the residence. The Newton Police Department failed to contact the Department of Children & Family Services.
Stephen had had incidents with law enforcement with Meth since 2006.
No one has heard or seen the children since February 10, 2023. Steven & Monica have both not answered their phones. The phone was pinged February 11, 2023 in Indianapolis, Indiana, and again February 14, 2023 in Richmond, Indiana. The phones were disconnected on the 14th.
Regardless of the press release Newton Police released in April, there was no official missing persons report until Sunday, April 2nd, 2023, over 7 weeks after their disappearance. They had not been listed into the LEADS database until at least that date. Stephen’s adult daughter was told they were not missing. She was told they were on vacation. Regardless of the Federal law, the Newton Police Department believed they had their option of filing the report, and the option of adding the disappearance to the LEADS database. Additionally, when I spoke to Corporal Greg Coker on April 2, 2023, he also told me that there was no missing persons report, they weren’t missing, they were not in the LEADS database, they were on vacation and there was no evidence to suggest otherwise. He confirmed that he had not contact the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. He confirmed that he had not called the Illinois State Police for the Amber Alert. He said the FBI was called and the State Police and they had both ‘closed their case’.
On 4/3/2023 The Missing Persons Awareness Network went to the sight where the family lived in Newton, Illinois. The windows were all covered with sheets, making it impossible to see inside the residence. The Newton Police Department entered the residence in our presences, and found there was no one inside. We wanted to be clear, that the family was not seen getting into that pick-up truck when the pick-up truck left with the U-Haul attached to the back of the pick-up truck. As of 4/8/2023, there has been no visual, electronic or voice contact in any way from anyone in that family of four since 2/10/2023 that has been made aware with our organization, the immediate family and law enforcement. We all just want to know that they are alive and safe.
Since our first visit to Newton on 4/3/2023, we have learned more.
Inside the residence, everything was left behind. The furniture remains at the residence. While their residence has always been cleaned / ‘immaculate’ according to DCFS and the family, it was now as though a tornado struck through every inch of the house. The kids clothes were still in their drawers and closets, a suitcase was open on the parents bed as though someone was packing both adult clothes, and left it behind, a cake half eaten in the kitchen, etc. It seems as though nothing had been taken.
Additionally, some of Stephens family and friends have contacted us and told us that Stephen had mental health issues all of his life, like his father, which includes paranoia, and signs of split personality disorder, though it is unknown and unconfirmed that he was ever diagnosed.
One of the children had not been seen by a doctor since 2020, while the other had not been seen since early 2022. Both children had been seen for complaints of backpain.
Both children were taken out of school and ‘homeschooled’ since 2019. There were requests for the children to be homeschool in 2019 & 2020, but no additional requests were made by the parents to continue homeschooling, and they were not in schools.
No one has ever reported abuse of the children to DCFS. Any physical abuse between Stephen and Monica were halted in the courts by Monica, signs of an abused woman who stays with the abuser.
One of the neighbors confirmed with us that Stephens drug abuse with meth has never stopped,
Days before the disappearance, 11-year-old Aiden notified his grandmother, and his adult sister, on two separate occasions, that he walked in on Stephen facing the wall in Stephen’s bedroom, talking to a clown tapestry that was on the wall next to the bed. He heard his dad talking to the clown, saying the following (verbatim). ‘I know what I have to do. I have to kill three people. I have to kill my wife first, then Aiden, then Nicholas.’ It is unimaginable how Aiden was feeling, or what he was going thru. This statement however, was not reported to DCFS before the family disappeared.
We can say with certainty that the truck has been seen in multiple states across the nation.
As of 4/8/2023, DCFS case was closed with no contact. A warrant was put out for Stephen’s arrest because he missed court. No one is at the residence but it is being watched closely. The cat they left outside alone was rescued the day we visited the residence. There is still no verbal or visual sighting confirmation or contact by any of them. There is no known agency assisting to look for this family. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children were not contacted. They have not been listed in NAMUS, no DNA, fingerprints or dentals were submitted to NAMUS. The press release that was put out was all untrue, and we ask that there be evidence shown that an official missing persons report was made on 2/10/2023 with the family’s signature and case number made on that date. We ask that there be evidence of the date the report was added in to the LEADS database. We ask that there be a written communication of explanation as to why the residence was not entered on a well being check for the family’s safety and well being, until the day we showed up on the scene.
We urge everyone to get the word out everywhere. They can be anywhere in the United States. It may even be possible they crossed the US border, though there is no knowledge of that either way. If you have any information on the Lutz family disappearance, please contact our office during the day time at (312) 620-0788.
Easter Sunday, April 9, 2023, the family notified us that there was an error made. While there was a large tapestry of a clown on the wall next to the parents bed, that was not what the father was ‘talking to’ when Aiden heard him saying that he knew he had to ‘kill his wife and sons’. It was in fact a clown mask, with red hair on each side of the mask.
We visited the area again on Monday April 10, 2023, and met with the family prior to entering the residence. While the electricity was out, the family lifted the blankets away from the windows, and opened the shades to allow light into the residence. Our goal was to find any sign of where they may have gone, or what may have happened to the family. That mask seems to be missing from the residence. We were in hopes that this was incorrect, and that we would find the mask somewhere in the residence, but that didn’t happen. The residence was in shambles as though a tornado struck the entire residence. A rifle was located, with a silencer and a scope. Because the residence was abandoned, and the father Stephen is a 3x felon, we contacted law enforcement right away for them to retrieve the weapon. Nothing seemed to be taken.
All the videos we have accumulated are on Facebook on our page www.facebook.com/missingpersonsawarenessnetworknfp.
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