DENVER (KDVR) — It’s been three weeks since 35-year-old Rickey Airth was last seen, and his family said they’ve exhausted all efforts.
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office this week listed Airth as an endangered person.
His family said is a Type 1 diabetic who cannot live without his insulin for more than 24 hours, and he didn’t have it with him when he went missing.
‘Something was odd’
The last time anyone heard from Airth was when he told a friend he was going out to a club for the evening. His cell phone last pinged near East Hampden Avenue and South Dayton Street in Denver.
His sister, Destiny McClure, called him the next morning and it went straight to voicemail. His mother got the same result later in the day.
“He’s very aware of his phone, and to have him go that long with it turned off, it was like, OK, something — something was odd,” McClure said.
So they decided to ask for a wellness check from Douglas County, but he wasn’t there either. That’s when they filed a missing persons report. The family even flew out last week to have feet on the ground and search for him, putting up flyers and asking everyone in the area about his whereabouts.
“We’ve posted flyers, literally everywhere,” McClure said. “At this point, our family has exhausted every ounce of resources that we think we could do and we’re worried.”
Man missing without diabetes medicine
His diabetes makes their worry that much worse.
“So many people have said, ‘Oh, you gotta have hope,’ and I’m like, you guys don’t get it. It’s not like a normal person, like you don’t understand. He cannot survive for more than 24 hours,” McClure said. “So for our family to have to process finding him and mourning him and for people to tell us to have hope, it’s very hard.”
Airth is loved by many, who are just asking for answers from anyone who might have seen him.
“He’s got nephews and nieces and babies that talk about him 24/7. Like, this is not some stupid case. This is a real human being. People love, they care. They know he’s a good person and that’s why our family is so distraught. We’re not going to end until we find him.” McClure said.
Airth is 5 feet 10 inches tall, weighing 145 pounds with brown hair and green eyes.
If you have any information on where he might be, you are urged to call 911 or the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office at 303-660-7500.
