Illinois Family Missing For 2 Months Found In Arizona: Police

NEWTON, IL — A southern Illinois family that went missing over two months ago has been found safe in Arizona, police announced Monday.

Stephen and Monica Lutz, 44 and 34, and their 9- and 11-year-old sons were reported missing from downstate Newton by a family member Feb. 10, police said in a news release published in full by the Jasper County Daily News. Their cellphones were disconnected and an investigation led police to believe the family had left the state, the news release said.

Stephen Lutz had appeared in court Jan. 19 for domestic battery charges and was released on bond on the conditions that he not contact the victim or enter the victim’s home or the family’s residence, according to police. A warrant was issued for his arrest, police said, adding there had been past domestic violence reports from the home.

All four family members were found in Cochise County, Arizona, according to an updated news release also published by the Jasper County Daily News from police, who reported that Stephen Lutz said that he, Monica Lutz and their children had relocated with no plans to return to Newton.