'Losing Day-To-Day Life': Wife Describes Injury After Missing Man Found
BROOMFIELD, Colo. (CBS4) - Police and K-9 officers searched an open space in Broomfield for hours on Monday, looking for Marine veteran Cory Hixson who was last seen on Saturday evening. The search was called off when the Weld County Sheriff's Office confirmed he was in their custody.
Hixson's wife, Shala Hixson, said he jumped from their two-story balcony on Saturday night and vanished.
She says Hixson, 33, suffers from a traumatic brain injury and memory loss from a mortar attack in Fallujah, Iraq 13 years ago. He also lost an eye.
"He's been switched medication several times and it always messes with him," said Shala. "He started acting different and shaved his head, didn't know who we were or who he was... just disoriented."
For two days Hixson's family worried. Then they received word from the Weld County Sheriff's Office that he was in custody, accused of breaking into someone's home.
"We recently moved here from our hometown so he could get better care at the VA and it's not better care," said Shala. "He served our country, he lost his eye for you and me, everybody. He lost his memory, he's losing his day-to-day life trying to fix himself."
Shala says now that her husband has been found, she hopes he gets the help he needs because the memory loss, depression and what the family has gone through is no way to live.
"From the time he was young he wanted to serve his country for you and me. He never had any other goals than that," said Shala. "Cory is the best person you will ever meet and it's unfortunate that we come here to get help from the VA and we were just ignored."
The Weld County Sheriff's Office didn't know that Hixson was a missing, disabled veteran when he was arrested. The Weld County District Attorney's Office will determine whether any formal charges will be filed.