Hi Guys!
This post is about a friend of mine, Jason Theis, that went missing in September 2012. I would like to get his name and story out there, in hopes that his family can get some answers. Where do I begin....
I grew up with Jason and served in the Marines with him from 2003-2008. In 2011, I came home for Summer break and had heard that Jason was living and going to school in the area. Jason and I grew up and lived in Calimesa, California. That Summer, I had a chance to catch up with Jason and hear about his life. He let me know that had been struggling with depression, gained a lot of weight and had just recently been divorced from his high school sweetheart. But, he appeared to be doing all he could to get out of the darkness. He was surrounding himself with good friends, working out excessively, and even joined his college football team. He was always smiling and in good spirits, but I always felt an underlying issue was going on. The few times I spoke with him about his divorce situation, he seemed confidently hopeless that he would ever gain his marriage back.
In August 2011, Jason came to my birthday party in Vegas. It was at this point he started to display some questionable behavior. For one, this was the first year I had ever seen him drink. The entire time I had known him, he and his brother had made it a point to stay away from alcohol. This was on account of the path his father took, early in his life. Now, suddenly, Jason was drinking heavily in Vegas. On the night of my birthday he completely disappeared and would not answer his phone. Some friends played his absence down, and we continued to hit the clubs up. It was told to me that Jason was drunk and probably back at the hotel. Later that night, when I arrived back at the hotel, Jason was laying passed out in front of the hotel room. I woke him up and he smiled and laughed, telling me about his whole night. He had taken photos with random strangers up and down the vegas strip, and in one photo he was hanging with a group of homeless people on a mound of fake grass. In all my 26 years I had never seen anything like it! But, it was presented as funny...a "Hangover" movie experience. The rest of the weekend was fine and Jason was his normal self.
At the end of Summer I said my goodbyes to all my friends and boarded a plane to D.C. Jason had let me know that he might be coming my way at some point on a family trip, and would let me know. A few months after I left he called me. What was interesting about this call was the tone. Jason called to tell me about his college experience, and began to tell me about how he was pursing two degrees at once. That he was going to Cal Poly Pomona and UCLA at the same time, and that he would graduate with a BA and Masters at the same time. He then told me he was also going to study abroad in Scotland. I did not question him, but knew everything he was saying was not making sense. I felt like he was insecure with what I may have been doing with my life, I was studying to go to law school, and was deflecting. The call didnt end pleasant and I was left feeling a bit like a punching bag. But, it happens. The next time he called I didnt answer. I believe this was early 2012.
In Jan of 2013, I called Jason. I thought, "OMG I have not talked to him in nearly a year!??" So I called, but there was no answer, so I left a message. A few weeks later I tried again. No response. In March 2013, I was concerned and finally reached out to one of his cousins to ask what was going on with him. It was at this point I learned that Jason had disappeared almost 6 months before my call. Devistated, I asked as many questions as I could. This is the information I was given:
1. Jason told family he was going to work in Ireland and that he had secured a ride from someone he found on Craigslist. He told his family there was no need to drive him to LAX, and that he would drive himself, pick up this person, and have them take him to the airport.
2. Jason said that he would be gone for 2 years and would not be in contact with them.
3. Jason responded to his family a few times via email. But, stopped responding at a certain point and never did again.
4. Months later, LAPD contacted Jason's grandma to let her know Jason's car was found abandoned in a parking lot in Manhattan Beach, CA. It had been there the entire time. I was told the scene was suspicious enough to list him as a missing persons.
5. Jason's family tried to get ahold of him and he never responded to them.
6. A short while later, Jason suddenly was taken off the missing person list based on information that was obtained by police. I do not have too much information about why. I heard from family members that someone had called identifying themselves as Jason and letting police know that he didn't want to be found. But, the information was never really clear and left all of his family members confused.
7. Jason's brother called up the police department asking for confirmation as to why Jason was not considered a missing person. The investigator followed up, only to realize someone had made a mistake and that Jason was actually still considered a missing person. So Jason's missing person's profile went back up online. As to who called and why is a mystery.
One of Jason's uncles also tells the story that Jason was pulled over by the police at a sobrity check and told them he was not missing and he wanted to be left alone. I don't know how this would even be true given his status and the procedures police take with missing persons and persons not wanting to be found. If Jason were out there today, using the same ID, he would have no access to any account given his status.
In 2015, I asked a friend in private investigations to run a background check on Jason. The thought was, maybe we could at least see a footprint, which would give his family some peace that he was still alive. My friend let me know, that there was virtually no active footprint of Jason in the United States. The only thing found was a utility bill in his name, still active and with his grandmother's address.
It has almost been 10 years since Jason left. At this point, his family would like to know if he is okay, alive, or if something sinister happened to him. His grandmothers wish was to see him again before she passed. Unfortunately, that did not happen. Jason is still missing and there seems to be some real confusion as to what happened to him, who called in, and if he is even alive. I would like to help his family find peace.
Any help, thoughts, or information would be helpful.
Thank you,
Liz
Jasons Listings:
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
Jason Dale Theis
Jason Dale Theis – The Charley Project
This post is about a friend of mine, Jason Theis, that went missing in September 2012. I would like to get his name and story out there, in hopes that his family can get some answers. Where do I begin....
I grew up with Jason and served in the Marines with him from 2003-2008. In 2011, I came home for Summer break and had heard that Jason was living and going to school in the area. Jason and I grew up and lived in Calimesa, California. That Summer, I had a chance to catch up with Jason and hear about his life. He let me know that had been struggling with depression, gained a lot of weight and had just recently been divorced from his high school sweetheart. But, he appeared to be doing all he could to get out of the darkness. He was surrounding himself with good friends, working out excessively, and even joined his college football team. He was always smiling and in good spirits, but I always felt an underlying issue was going on. The few times I spoke with him about his divorce situation, he seemed confidently hopeless that he would ever gain his marriage back.
In August 2011, Jason came to my birthday party in Vegas. It was at this point he started to display some questionable behavior. For one, this was the first year I had ever seen him drink. The entire time I had known him, he and his brother had made it a point to stay away from alcohol. This was on account of the path his father took, early in his life. Now, suddenly, Jason was drinking heavily in Vegas. On the night of my birthday he completely disappeared and would not answer his phone. Some friends played his absence down, and we continued to hit the clubs up. It was told to me that Jason was drunk and probably back at the hotel. Later that night, when I arrived back at the hotel, Jason was laying passed out in front of the hotel room. I woke him up and he smiled and laughed, telling me about his whole night. He had taken photos with random strangers up and down the vegas strip, and in one photo he was hanging with a group of homeless people on a mound of fake grass. In all my 26 years I had never seen anything like it! But, it was presented as funny...a "Hangover" movie experience. The rest of the weekend was fine and Jason was his normal self.
At the end of Summer I said my goodbyes to all my friends and boarded a plane to D.C. Jason had let me know that he might be coming my way at some point on a family trip, and would let me know. A few months after I left he called me. What was interesting about this call was the tone. Jason called to tell me about his college experience, and began to tell me about how he was pursing two degrees at once. That he was going to Cal Poly Pomona and UCLA at the same time, and that he would graduate with a BA and Masters at the same time. He then told me he was also going to study abroad in Scotland. I did not question him, but knew everything he was saying was not making sense. I felt like he was insecure with what I may have been doing with my life, I was studying to go to law school, and was deflecting. The call didnt end pleasant and I was left feeling a bit like a punching bag. But, it happens. The next time he called I didnt answer. I believe this was early 2012.
In Jan of 2013, I called Jason. I thought, "OMG I have not talked to him in nearly a year!??" So I called, but there was no answer, so I left a message. A few weeks later I tried again. No response. In March 2013, I was concerned and finally reached out to one of his cousins to ask what was going on with him. It was at this point I learned that Jason had disappeared almost 6 months before my call. Devistated, I asked as many questions as I could. This is the information I was given:
1. Jason told family he was going to work in Ireland and that he had secured a ride from someone he found on Craigslist. He told his family there was no need to drive him to LAX, and that he would drive himself, pick up this person, and have them take him to the airport.
2. Jason said that he would be gone for 2 years and would not be in contact with them.
3. Jason responded to his family a few times via email. But, stopped responding at a certain point and never did again.
4. Months later, LAPD contacted Jason's grandma to let her know Jason's car was found abandoned in a parking lot in Manhattan Beach, CA. It had been there the entire time. I was told the scene was suspicious enough to list him as a missing persons.
5. Jason's family tried to get ahold of him and he never responded to them.
6. A short while later, Jason suddenly was taken off the missing person list based on information that was obtained by police. I do not have too much information about why. I heard from family members that someone had called identifying themselves as Jason and letting police know that he didn't want to be found. But, the information was never really clear and left all of his family members confused.
7. Jason's brother called up the police department asking for confirmation as to why Jason was not considered a missing person. The investigator followed up, only to realize someone had made a mistake and that Jason was actually still considered a missing person. So Jason's missing person's profile went back up online. As to who called and why is a mystery.
One of Jason's uncles also tells the story that Jason was pulled over by the police at a sobrity check and told them he was not missing and he wanted to be left alone. I don't know how this would even be true given his status and the procedures police take with missing persons and persons not wanting to be found. If Jason were out there today, using the same ID, he would have no access to any account given his status.
In 2015, I asked a friend in private investigations to run a background check on Jason. The thought was, maybe we could at least see a footprint, which would give his family some peace that he was still alive. My friend let me know, that there was virtually no active footprint of Jason in the United States. The only thing found was a utility bill in his name, still active and with his grandmother's address.
It has almost been 10 years since Jason left. At this point, his family would like to know if he is okay, alive, or if something sinister happened to him. His grandmothers wish was to see him again before she passed. Unfortunately, that did not happen. Jason is still missing and there seems to be some real confusion as to what happened to him, who called in, and if he is even alive. I would like to help his family find peace.
Any help, thoughts, or information would be helpful.
Thank you,
Liz
Jasons Listings:
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
Jason Dale Theis
Jason Dale Theis – The Charley Project
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I think you may be able to start a thread in the missing Persons Discussion area found here: 
