Our Ordeal...

I’m writing this blog to clear up some confusion and let you in on the ordeal over the past 6 days concerning my brother. Many have received conflicting reports with no explanation from me as to what is happening. I was frantically searching for my brother and trying to save his life, so had no time for details. I first want to thank everyone for your prayers. They have not been in vain and I received much strength from your kind words and prayers.

Now to the events of the past 6 days:

On Thursday, Sept 3, I received an email with two attached documents from my brother. The email said that, by the time I received it, he would be dead. The 28 page attached letter detailed his reasons and method of killing himself and as you would expect, I began frantically to try to reach him. His phone was disconnected and he did not reply to any of my emails. He stated that he was going out of state to kill himself and that I need not try to find him. He also gave detailed instructions as to what to do with all of his possessions which he had placed in storage which I was to sell and split the profits with my mother after paying my mother back some money he owes her. He also attached his last will and testament. A couple of days later I would receive in the mail, hard copies of these documents as well as keys to the storage units.

Now, my brother has not always been the most truthful person in the world, so I thought it was possible that he actually stayed at home to do this and lied so we would not stop him. About a decade ago, we prevented a suicide attempt by sending the police to his home, so I thought there was a chance to find him in San Antonio, so after calling the San Antonio police department, I jumped in the car to drive down to try to find my brother or at least his body. I was so distraught I have never wept like that in my life. It was quite a horrible day. When the police arrived at the house they found no one. I kept emailing my brother hoping that he had not done the deed yet, but received no reply. I feared that he was lying dead in his home. Friends in the neighborhood where he lived said they had not seen him in two weeks.

I arrived in San Antonio and drove to my brother’s home. I found it dark and no movement there. I emailed him several times from my phone in case he was still alive at home and just making it look like no one was home. I did not want to go in at night as it looked like no one was there and I wanted police with me when I went in. I have a key. So I went to the hotel and did not sleep most of the night texting friends and talking to others and praying and getting others to pray (slept maybe 2 hours). I got up and checked out and drove to my brother’s house to finally go in and see what I would find. When I arrived (I was going to call the police once I was there) I found the door wide open and a man there, cleaning and repairing the place. It was completely empty as my brother stated in his suicide letter that it would be. The man said my brother had not been there in two weeks. So I headed home distraught and at a loss.

While driving home, I received an email from my brother on my Blackberry. He was obviously not dead as he had stated, but he said that he had left on the evening that I arrived in San Antonio. It had taken him longer to get his affairs in order so that he could leave. He stated he was driving somewhere out of state so we could not find him. He also stated that he was going to meet some “clients” before taking his life and that he had placed an ad for these “clients” on the internet. He also sent this same email to my sister and the line about the ad jumped out at us. It was like when you read the Bible and the Holy Spirit causes one particular verse to jump out at you that He wants you to deal with, so I pondered that and did a Google search, but found nothing. All I knew was my brother was alive and I had to find him and prevent his death. My sister and I spoke on the phone and the Lord led her and her husband to Craig’s List, so they did a search and actually found him in Las Vegas, NV. What a miracle! Out of every city in every state, God led us right to him in Las Vegas of all places.

I arrived home on Friday night exhausted and emotionally spent. I knew my brother was alive, but for how long? When I woke up Saturday morning, the Lord spoke to my heart and said, “You were willing to drive to San Antonio where your brother is not, but are you not willing to go to Las Vegas where you now know he is?” I called my sister and asked her to create a fake email address and pose as one of his “clients” and set up a meeting with him on Sunday night or Monday (trying to keep him alive until we could arrive). He took the bait and set up a meeting at the MGM Grand at 6 pm on Sunday. The plan was to meet him there and talk to him. In praying about it and thinking it through, we realized that talking to him would likely end up in him walking off and we would lose him. So we contacted the Las Vegas police department and formulated a plan with them and the security people at the MGM. We jumped on a plane and got there just in time to point security and the police to him as he walked up to the Starbucks in the MGM. We were in the security office and pointed him out on a monitor. They took him into custody which was the most awful thing in my life to see. The officer said, “Congratulations, you’ve done a great thing”. My sister and I both very shook up said, “it doesn’t feel like it right now”. It was the most awful thing to have to watch them handcuff my brother and take him off. I was shaking and my sister was crying.

The mistake I made was not seeing him right then and there. The officer had told us that we could speak with him at the hospital and we elected to do that with the thought that we would speak with him in a calmer atmosphere. Well, when we got to the hospital, he refused to see us. My good friend, Jim Gilbert who is a minister as well had flown in after a meeting in Detroit instead of flying home, to be with me and help us through this and to try to speak to my brother as an impartial observer. My brother would not speak to any of us which made us quite sad. I was, however, able to pass along a note to my brother that my mother had written to him expressing her love for him and asking him to reconsider. He did know that we were all there and hopefully knows that we could not just sit and let him end his life.

Anyway, we kept passing along requests for prayer to everyone we could think of knowing that it would be a miracle if he did not snow the doctors into letting him go. He is quite good at deception. I had given the authorities all of the written documents he sent to me and my mother plus his last will and testament he sent. They in turn passed it all on to the doctors at the hospital. My sister and I expressed to all of them very forcefully that he needs help. We received word today that they are holding him past the 3 day mandatory holding time which means the doctors have determined that he truly does need help.

I hope this clears up any confusion caused by my earlier texts and posts stating that my brother is dead. Obviously, he is not and hopefully by the grace of God he will not be dead for a long time to come.

Thank you all so much for your prayers and support. Please keep praying. It’s not over, but things are beginning to look up.

Until later,

Don