Reil has schizophrenia and had stopped taking his medications, according to his father, Doug Reil. He was “ delusional” and speaking incoherently to his father about the government, Doug Reil said earlier this month.
According to the family, he left behind his cellphone, glasses and keys.
Jason Reil has attempted suicide in the past, according to his father.
Brunswick police said Jason’s sister, Angela Reil, reported him missing on Jan. 25, and they confirmed he picked up medication at the Brunswick Rite-Aid on Jan. 19.
Just after 10 a.m. Thursday, Game Warden Norman Lewis and his dog left the parking lot of the Knights of Columbus Hall on Columbus Avenue.
Lewis searched the wooded area roughly bordered by Route 1, Jordan Avenue and Federal Street for any sign that Reil had been there. The search turned up nothing.
Early Thursday afternoon, wardens Dan Christianson and Evan Franklin, along with four Brunswick police officers, conducted a grid search of the same area.
Descending the hill behind Reil’s Federal Street apartment, they walked within a dozen feet of each other through the snow searching for “any evidence of a human being,” Lewis said.
They also were unsuccessful.
Brunswick Police Detective Rich Cutliffe, who has led the search for Reil, said Thursday that he is “still fielding a lot of phone calls and messages” about Reil, but has so far been unable to confirm any sighting.
Tips last week indicated that Reil might have been spotted in Portland and at the Occupy Portland camp, but family members and Cutliffe searched the area and found no sign of him.
Earlier this week, Reil’s mother was contacted by a man who reported finding Reil’s cellphone in his car after giving the man a ride in the Raymond area. Cutliffe said that although the man resembled Reil and was also named Jason, it wasn’t him.
Police returned to Reil’s apartment recently and found his cellphone still there, Cutliffe said.
“There’s no sign he’s been back there,” Cutliffe said, and Reil’s bank records show no activity to date.
The family has set up a Facebook page, “ Missing Jason Reil,” to update others on the search for Jason.
On Wednesday morning, Doug Reil wrote to “ thank everyone for all that they are doing to help find my son Jason.”
He wrote of Thursday’s planned search, “I personally don’t think that anything will (come) of this because I think Jason is in Portland, Maine. He has been seen there on several occasions. But anything that may find him is appreciated … Thanks again for all your prayers and well wishes. I know that he will be found soon.”
bbrogan@timesrecord.com
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