Police in Cochise County, Arizona, released body camera footage showing interactions between Steven and Monica Lutz more than two months after they and their children were reported missing. has been published.
The family contacted Newton, Illinois police in February, saying they hadn’t seen Steven, 44, Monica, 34, Aiden, 11, and Nicholas Lutz, 9, in several days and their It took days, weeks, weeks and months, but no one was able to get in touch with the family of four.
“We were just… ready for something new,” Monica can be heard saying on body camera footage. Officers found her and her boys living in what appeared to be a pop-up camper.
Body camera footage shows Monica Lutz safe in Arizona.
Surveillance footage from early February showed the family leaving U-Haul in a truck (a blue 2005 Ford F150) in the middle of the night. The last ping for their electronics was Richmond, Indiana. After that, their digital footprint cooled.
“I literally dropped all my cell phones…and we just walked away,” Stephen told responding officers in Arizona. A license plate reader tracked the family to Cochise County.
The Lutz boys told police they were still homeschooled and doing well.
Brittany Lutz, one of Stephen’s older children, found her father arrested in January for domestic violence and one of his young sons mumbling to himself that the family needed to be killed. He said he was taken.
“My daughter is trying to cause us a lot of trouble,” Stephen told the officer. “We got away from all the chaos.”
Stephen Lutz told police officers that he and his family are fine and have never been better.
Steven told cops he wanted to travel and show his sons the world—exploring the Grand Canyon and Hollywood.
“I got caught up in something I shouldn’t have gone home,” he said. “I had to get away from it.”
Body camera footage recorded a phone call between Newton Police Chief Riley Britton and Stephen.
Britton asked Stephen what he planned to do with the house. The family admitted that they had just left home and left most of their belongings behind. Stephen said he wanted to sell it.
“Want to buy?” Stephen joked with the Chief. “I’ll give you an outrageous deal. $10,000 cash.”
Stephen Lutz told police he had never been “missing” and wanted to explore the country with his family.
The sheriff asks Stephen to call some of his family members, especially Brittany, to let them know he, Monica, and the children are safe, but he refuses, claiming he was “stabbed in the back.” bottom.
“I’m sorry to scare you,” he said. “Don’t tell them where I am. No one else needs to know where I am. It’s nobody’s business.”
There is an arrest warrant for Steven due to pending home battery claims in Illinois. However, this is a misdemeanor and is generally a low priority for state-to-state extradition.
