Elijah Blanding: Man with traumatic brain injury located after going missing from Avondale facility

UPDATE: On June 21, Elijah Blanding's uncle, Keith, said Elijah was found, and he is going to be okay. FOX 10's earlier story is below.

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A West Valley family is desperately searching for a young man who essentially disappeared earlier this week.

25-year-old Elijah Blanding was last seen on June 17. Now his family wants answers from the healthcare providers who were supposed to be helping him.

His family has already had to bury his brother, and they don't want the same fate for Elijah.

The backstory:

They say Elijah was under the care of Community Bridges Incorporated in Avondale, and the facility has refused to give them answers.

"At this point, the worst thing is going through our minds," said Elijah's aunt, Kindra Reagor.

The family has no idea where Elijah is, days after he was reportedly dropped off at Central Arizona Shelter Services by a CBI caseworker.

When Reagor showed up at CASS, she said they hadn't seen Elijah on the premises.

More questioning of CBI then led to more confusion.

"Last thing that I heard was a caseworker picked him up and just left him at CASS, so then, when I asked, what was he wearing? They can't tell me. Who picked him up? They won't tell me. I have an ROI [Release of Information] to get all of his information, and they're refusing to give me anything," Reagor said.

Reagor says staff at Central Arizona Shelter Services, or CASS, had not seen Elijah on the premises. 

She says Elijah may be 25 years old, but mental health issues caused by a traumatic brain injury leave him with the mindset of a child.

"He has the capacity, the mind capacity of a 6, 7-year-old, so he's out here, vulnerable," said Reagor.

In the current extreme heat, their concerns are only growing.

"To be out here in Arizona in these streets. Yesterday reached what, about 117°? To not know if my nephew ate, to not know if he drank anything, to just not know his whereabouts," she said.

What they're saying:

The situation is haunting for the family.

"We're tired. Like, I had a nephew prior that went through this and who they did the same thing to, who ended up dying out here in the streets."

Reagor is referring to Elijah's brother, Eamon. The family says he died in March 2023 after we went missing under similar circumstances.

The medical examiner's report lists his death as an accident with "probably fentanyl intoxication" as a primary cause.

"We already went through this and the outcome was not good," said Reagor.

Elijah's loved ones say they've searched throughout the Valley for him and now feel like they need the public's help after being let down by the facility they trusted. The family wants more accountability from the facilities, which are designed to help people like Eamon and Elijah.

"It hurts because this didn't have to happen. It didn't have to be like this, said Reagor. "They could've helped him; all they had to do was help him."

What's next:

The family filed a report with Phoenix police on June 19.

On June 20, FOX 10 contacted CBI, who stated they could not disclose the status of any client, including confirming if Eamon or Elijah were clients, due to patient privacy laws.

What you can do:

If you have any information about Elijah Blanding's whereabouts, please call the Phoenix Police at 602-262-6151. 

Map of the area near Community Bridges

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