Larry Moncada: Lost Then Found
Larry Murillo-Moncada, presumably born in 1984, was last seen by his parents on November 28th, 2009 in Council Bluffs, Iowa. He had left his parent's house wearing only his blue jeans and a long sleeved shirt, leaving behind his wallet, medication, and any other personal belongings. He was described as 140 pounds, and 6 feet tall, though one source states that he was 5'6" for some reason.
Prior to this, Larry had come home after a working a Thanksgiving shift at the supermarket, 'No Frills'. He came home disoriented, his heart was beating fast, was experiencing hallucinations and hearing voices that were telling him to eat sugar He believed that someone was following him. That same day, his mother took him to the doctor where he was prescribed medicine, one source stating anti-depressants to treat anxiety, but he seemed have had an adverse reaction. On the 28th, Larry allegedly got into an argument with his parents, and fled his home. When he did not return the next day, his mother filed a missing person's report.
For years, no-one knew what happened to Larry, and in 2016, the store that he worked at closed down.
Ten years after his disappearance, Larry's body was found. There were no signs of trauma, but the context of his death became even more of a mystery. In January of 2019, contractors went to the closed grocery store to remove fittings and tear apart the freezer unit. Between the freezer and a wall, was an 18 inch gap of which Larry's body was found. At the time of discovery, authorities stated that the body had been there for a long period of time. When the body was first found, Sgt. Brandon Danielson stated that Larry was the first person to come to mind. After DNA testing, it was proved that the body was indeed Larry Moncada's.
The question beyond this is...how? How did he fall behind the freezer, and how did nobody notice his body was there? While the space was 18 inches wide, he had fallen 12 feet, and the loud sound of the freezers may have muffled any cries for help. As for why Larry even ended up in the freezer area, it was stated by many of the former employees that used to work there that they would climb on top of the freezers since the space was often used for storage and to pass time. The employees would climb the coolers to hide from customers and take breaks.
An autopsy showed no signs of trauma.
Early in the investigation for Larry, authorities and his parents went to the store looking for him. Both his mother and father had the feeling that the store would reveal some sort of answer, though nothing came to fruition. Even the authorities had asked Moncada's boss where he might have been, to which they stated that they didn't know, and Larry wasn't scheduled to work at that time.
His death is considered accidental, with the case being closed.
Since the news has come out that he was stuck behind the freezers, there have been many people on social media from the area stating that they had been to that exact store. During this time period, there are reports of people having smelled something odd, and even talking to employees about what the possible smell was, though it was usually fanned off.
[Afterword]
While people wonder how Larry was able to get in the store, I personally think that he must have went straight to the store after leaving his parents' house. Despite not having any shoes or keys, some sources state that he left the house around 6 pm. Most stores would have been open during that time. Though, you would think that perhaps he would have been asked about why he wasn't wearing any shoes. I believe it is possible that he went to the store hiding spot to potentially sort out his thoughts, and of course met his fate by accident. Perhaps he slipped because his feet would have been wet from the snow?
Some people wonder what type of medicine that Larry was on. I have not seen any confirmed records as to what type of medicine that he had taken, though I do want to acknowledge that he allegedly had only tried the new medicine for one day before going missing. If the medication was an anti-depressant as they said, I am unsure how one day of medicine could make a person react in such a way. Typically, a medicine needs at least 2-4 weeks to course through one's body before knowing any sort of effects.
I do acknowledge though, that when looking at the side effects of Sertaline (a generic version of Zoloft which is also used to treat Anxiety) extreme side effects consist of:
-seizures
-abnormal bleeding or bruising
-hallucinations, fever sweating, confusion, fast heartbeat, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea
-rash, hives, and swelling and
-difficulty breathing.
I am not trying to come off as condescending, but since we don't know what type of medicine he was prescribed, it's tough to gauge whether it could have been the medicine or mental illness. Further, considering the way the story is represented, it seems that Larry was experiencing most of these symptoms before the medication, and not after. What I am most curious about are the voices that he heard in his head. Hearing voices is atypical of anxiety disorder, which makes me believe that if Larry was prescribed an SSRI, and had a different mental illness, then the anxiety medicine may have very well caused him to have his final freak out. A quick google search shows that a person could hear voices for either being schizophrenic or having bipolar disorder.
In the end, we will never truly know what went through Larry Moncada's mind when he left his parent's house that night. Rest in peace.
[SOURCES]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hn82vqdn1Ok&ab_channel=KETVNewsWatch7
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7274293/Remains-man-supermarket-freezer-10-years.html
https://allthatsinteresting.com/larry-ely-murillo-moncada-body
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