Jason D. Reil was a 33-year-old man from Brunswick, Maine, when he disappeared in January 2012. He was described as a White male, about 5 feet 11 inches to 6 feet tall and roughly 185 to 200 pounds, with brown hair kept closely shaved, blue eyes, a goatee, and eyeglasses he may not have had with him. He had a dragon tattoo on his left forearm, scars on both wrists, and a scar on his right eyebrow.
He was known to dress in khaki pants, a dark blue, gray, or green sweater or hooded sweatshirt, and leather shoes. At the time, Jason was living on Federal Street in Brunswick, and those who loved him described him as quiet, kind-natured, creative, and deeply human beyond the illness that placed him at risk. He was an artist and poet, and family members later remembered that before his disappearance he had been doing well, helping at local soup kitchens, and showing a positive outlook on life.
In the days before he vanished, Jason had stopped taking medication needed to regulate schizophrenia, and his family said he had become anxious, agitated, delusional, and unable to sleep. According to reporting from shortly after he disappeared, Jason stopped by his father Doug Reil’s Brunswick home the night before he was last seen. Doug persuaded him to stay overnight, worried by Jason’s statements about government conspiracies and by the fact that he had not been taking his medication. Around 6 a.m. the next morning, Jason woke and again spoke about conspiracies. His father asked him to call his doctor and take his medication, and Jason said he needed to go for a walk. Doug asked him to promise he would call when he returned, but Jason never came back. Family members said that while Jason had gone off for a day or two in the past, he always checked in to let someone know he was all right; this time, there was only silence.
Jason left behind possessions that made his disappearance especially alarming. Reports say he left his cell phone, eyeglasses, keys, jacket, and gloves behind, though he may have taken his wallet. His family said he was not considered a danger to others, but his condition made him vulnerable, particularly without medication and without the everyday items he would normally need. His case was treated as an endangered missing person case, and early descriptions emphasized that he might be staying in shelters, living on the street, hitchhiking, or accepting shelter from someone unknown. A possible clue emerged when his debit card was reportedly used at a Brunswick Rite Aid days after he was last seen; some sources report the use as January 18, while a later local report said police confirmed he picked up medication at the Brunswick Rite Aid on January 19. Either way, that reported activity suggested Jason may have remained in or near the Brunswick area shortly after he disappeared.
As the search continued, Brunswick police, Maine game wardens, and a tracking dog searched wooded areas off Federal Street, including land near Route 1, Jordan Avenue, and Jason’s apartment, but they found no sign of him. Investigators followed tips, including possible sightings in Portland and at the Occupy Portland camp, but those leads did not bring Jason home. One report said Jason’s mother was contacted by a man who believed he had found Jason’s cell phone after giving someone a ride in the Raymond area; police later determined that man was not Jason, and investigators found Jason’s actual phone still at his apartment. Detective Rich Cutliffe, who was leading the search at the time, said police were receiving calls and messages but had not been able to confirm a sighting.
The years after Jason’s disappearance became a long and painful search for his family. His aunt, Vikki Cunningham, spoke years later about the family’s continued need for answers and the way time had stretched the mystery from days into months and then into years. Relatives put up flyers, attended candlelight vigils, maintained a family-run page, and offered a reward for credible information. Jason’s sister Angela described him as a poet and artist, and family members emphasized that schizophrenia did not define him. His father Doug, who had been the last known person to see him, died in 2014 without learning what happened to his son. Years later, Jason remained remembered not as a case number, but as a beloved son, brother, nephew, artist, poet, and vulnerable man who walked away from his father’s home in Brunswick and never returned. The case began with a morning walk after a period of mental health crisis, moved through urgent searches, pharmacy-related leads, public appeals, and unconfirmed sightings, and remains an unresolved disappearance centered on one enduring question: what happened to Jason Reil after he left in Brunswick in January 2012?Last Seen: Jan 12, 2012
