Wednesday, October 9, 2024

Mentally Ill Adult Missing Missing Over Three Weeks Since Fleeing Ukiah Hospital

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[All images of Nathan Stickel provided by his mother Jeanette Stickel]

37-year-old Nathan Stickel was hospitalized at Ukiah Valley Medical Center on June 5, 2021 for symptoms associated with his mental illness. Parents Jeanette and Brandt Stickel said that night he fled the hospital, Nathan was seen hours later at the Redwood Valley Market convenience store, and they are“extremely worried” because he has not been seen or heard from since. 

A screenshot of surveillance footage of when Nathan Stickel was last seen at the Redwood Valley Market on June 6, 2021

Ukiah Police Department Detective Sergeant Rick Pintaine confirmed Nathan Stickel’s whereabouts remain unknown and his agency is actively investigating this missing person’s case. Ukiah Police Department has issued a statewide alert regarding Stickel and the circumstances of his disappearance.

Nathan’s mother Jeanette explained her son’s mental illness caused him to experience extreme paranoia. He lived independently in Fort Bragg for years but had recently moved into a Ukiah group home to receive more support. His connection to reality began to slip further, Jeanette said, and he began to suffer paranoid delusions that resulted in him being hospitalized at Ukiah Valley Medical Center.

Around midnight on June 5, 2021, Nathan Stickel fled the hospital shirtless and in simple slips-ons, his parents explained. He was seen the morning of June 6 around 9:00 at the Redwood Valley Market on surveillance footage. 

Nathan’s parents surmised that their son had walked on foot from Ukiah to Redwood Valley following the railroad tracks Both of Nathan’s parents opined that despite their son’s mental state, “he looked good in the video from the Redwood Valley Market.

From that point on, Nathan’s trail has gone cold. Jeanette and Brandt suggested he could have returned to Ukiah and might be living within transient communities. Before he went missing, Jeanette said her son was feeling an affinity towards the homeless because during walks “they were kind to him and would give him cigarettes.” 

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Nathan’s parents reside in the Mendocino Coastal town of Mendocino and have checked in with all of Nathan’s connections from his time living in Fort Bragg to no avail. No one has seen or heard from him.

Nathan Stickel is 37-years-old, weighs between 165-185 pounds, has sandy blonde hair, and blue eyes. His mother Jeanette described him as usually “clean-shaven” but suggested he could have facial hair since going missing. He was last seen wearing a black, zip-up hoodie with the “SF” logo on it and light blue denim pants.

Other distinctive characteristics of Nathan are his proclivity to have his head forward while walking or sitting. He also smokes cigarettes and is known to smoke them very quickly. “Strangers would always comment on how fast he smoked cigarettes,” his parents told us.

UPD’s Detective Pintaine requests if anyone has information regarding Stickel’s whereabouts to contact Ukiah Police Department at 707-463-6262

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6 COMMENTS

  1. If he… fled the hospital shirtless and in simple slips-ons, Then where did he get the jeans and SF sweatshirt in those few hours? My guess he knows someone in Redwood Valley.

  2. I might have bought him a sandwich and drink June 28 in sebastopol. It was dark and the guy looked at the ground, but asked very nicely if I could help with food. He was a smoker too. But no beard and short hair.

      • This guy was in willits the other night. I want to say it was exactly one week ago tonight. He was walking in the middle of the road by the casino and down Della Ave. He had a distinct gate and was wearing a black hoodie and black jeans and I thought he had something like a skateboard only he was wearing it on his back like a backpack and he looked at me directly both times I passed him. I’m 100 percent confident it was this person. He seemed a little out of it but he acknowledged that a vehicle was coming and moved out of the roadway..but his walk. I thought from a ways off I was looking at someone walking on stilts or something because of the way he had his head positioned as he was walking. I have not seen him since last Sunday night around ten pm. But there is a homeless population here that is often along the railroad track out in the valley across from the New hospital. I’ll keep my eye out.

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Matt LaFever
Matt LaFeverhttps://mendofever.com/
For the past seven years, Matt LaFever has covered the North Coast of California in both print and radio news. A Humboldt State graduate, he has lived in the Emerald Triangle for nearly 20 years. His reporting spans local issues like crime and wildfires. When not writing, Matt is an avid outdoorsman, exploring Northern California’s rugged landscapes. Reach out to him at matthewplafever@gmail.com.

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