A Lacey family is asking for your help after their son was allegedly mugged and left unconscious in freezing temperatures while on a work trip in Colorado.
“If you were to compare it to burns it would be like third-degree burns,” Ryu “Max” Maxwell said of his injuries.
Maxwell had been in Denver for work a few days when he decided to blow off some steam at an arcade bar in Jefferson County.
He had a few drinks with two men he met and befriended. When his phone died and he was unable to call a ride-share vehicle home, he asked the men to drive him to his hotel.
“I was like, ‘This is my address. I need to go here. This is my hotel,’” he said. “That’s literally the last thing I remember saying.”
Maxwell became disoriented in the car. When he woke up, he was in a hospital bed.
“When I woke up, they were talking about amputation because there was no feeling at all,” he said, referring to his hands.
Maxwell said nurses told him a good Samaritan had found him lying in the snow near a gas station in freezing temperatures. He said his body temperature had dropped to 81 degrees.
His wallet, cell phone, earrings were gone, so were the two men who had promised to drive him home.
It’s not clear how much longer Maxwell would have survived if he hadn’t been found.
“It was really aggravating because I feel like I’ve built a lot in the last couple months and this is just a huge setback,” he said.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to KIRO 7 it was assisting the Denver Police Department with an investigation into the case.
Maxwell has since returned to Washington where his mother and siblings are helping care for him.
“When I’m waking up every day having to ask my sister to feed me, when i have to ask my mother to take my shirt off,” he said. “I feel like I’m the one that’s supposed to be taking care of them almost and it’s hard mentally.”
It’s difficult financially too. Maxwell is an independent contractor. He doesn’t have insurance and now, as he recovers from his injuries, he’s not working.
His best friend started a GoFundMe, which has raised thousands of dollars so far. You can donate by clicking this link.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/max-needs-your-help-frostbite-recovery
“I’m just glad so many people care about me,” he said. “I would do the same for them. It really just brings to light how many people care for me and I’m really thankful for it.”
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