U.S. Army offers $25,000 reward to find soldier, 21, missing for more than two months and last seen 'begging for money on the streets' in Mexico
A Florida family has reached out to government officials in Mexico in hopes of finding a missing U.S. Army soldier who was last seen more than two months ago.
Pvt. Richard Halliday, has been missing since July 24 when he was last seen by soldiers at the Fort Bliss base in El Paso, Texas.
According to Stars and Stripes, the 21-year-old soldier had been reprimanded for violation by his unit, the 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command.
Missing U.S. Army soldier Pvt. Richard Halliday reportedly was seen in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, asking for money to buy food, according to his mother Patricia Halliday
Halliday started to run into problems with the Army following his return from Qatar, which included driving under the influence of alcohol despite being under the legal drinking age of 21.
'During the two days after Pvt. Halliday fled from his escorts on July 24, his unit actively searched on post, notified all access points to Fort Bliss, contacted emergency rooms at local hospitals, notified on-post and community law enforcement, and called phone numbers on file for him,' said Lt. Col. Allie Payne, a spokeswoman for the 1st Armored Division and Fort Bliss.
Robert and Patricia Halliday became aware of her son's disappearance August 28 after they were informed by Richard Halliday's commander in order that he had reportedly deserted the military.
'We fear that there may have been foul play in his disappearance,' the family said in a statement that was provided to DailyMail.com.
'We request that the FBI and other appropriate law enforcement agencies El Paso Police, Texas Rangers, etc. conduct an independent, third-party investigation. We would also welcome their collaboration with the Army’s Criminal Investigation Command process for a more balanced approach. '
The concerned mother appeared in a recent social media video revealing she had learned her soldier son had been seen in the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juárez 'looking pretty bad, even asking for money for food.'
There have been five occasions over the last two weeks that the worried parents have been approached by individuals claiming to have seen Richard Halliday.
The soldier's family filed a missing person's report with the Chihuahua State Attorney General's Office, which have published announcements on behalf of the family.
Pvt. Richard Halliday with his mother Patricia. Halliday, a 21-year-old U.S. Army soldier was last seen July 24 at the Fort Bliss base in El Paso, Texas
The father Army Pvt. Richard Halliday visited the Chihuahua State Attorney General's Office in Mexico to file a missing person's report
KTSM-TV reported Tuesday that the Interpol and the U.S. Consulate in Mexico have joined in on the search for Richard Halliday.
Halliday's parents have also been in contact with Veronica Escobar, a U.S. Representative for Texas's 16th congressional district.
'Our goal is to ask for her personal involvement and intervention on our behalf, to cut through the red tape that is standing between the involvement or FBI and other civilian agencies,' Robert and Patricia Halliday said. 'We aim to build efficiencies between agencies to include the Army CID through this process.'
Patricia Halliday took to Facebook on Monday and informed family, friends and well wishers that the family had provided DNA samples to a local morgue in Ciudad Juárez, expressing they wanted to rule out that her son was among any of the corpses that had recently gone unidentified.
The Halliday family has raised $12,613 through a GoFundMe page, with money being directed towards a reward for information that can help the family find Richard Halliday.
The U.S. Army has offered a $25,000 reward.
The U.S. Army is offering a $25,000 reward for information that could lead to finding Pvt. Richard Halliday, who was last seen by soldiers July 24 at the Fort Bliss Army base in El Paso, Texas