Full Name: Richard Halliday

Alternative Name: Pvt. Richard Halliday, Rick

Case Status: Missing

Record ID#: 0293

*The names “Jane Doe”  and “John Doe” are English names used when the person’s true name is not known. If used above, the name refers to a person of unknown identity.

Date of Birth*: June 24, 1999
Birthplace:
Age at the Time: 21
Age Group: 20s
Biological Sex: Male
Hair: Black
Eyes: Brown
Skin Complexion:
Shoe Size:
Ethnicity: Caucasian or White
Nationality: United States
Languages Spoken: English, German, Korean

*If the date says January 1, this is often just a placeholder for an unknown specific date. It usually means “sometime that year”.

Physical Build:

Height:

Weight

Distinguishing Marks:

• Mental Stability Concerns

Medical Condition: He may have been suffering from depression or suicidal thoughts.
Physical Abnormality:
Dental Condition:
Scars & Other Marks:
Piercings:
Tattoos:

Other Descriptors: He had a black belt in Karate

Clothing

• Gray T-Shirt
• Charcoal Gray Zip-Up Hoodie
• Gray or Turquoise Cargo Pants
• Gray Tennis Shoes with Red, Yellow, and White Paint stains

Possessions:

Date of the Disappearance*: July 23, 2020

Description: Pvt. Richard Karol Halliday, a 21-year-old U.S. Army soldier assigned to D Battery, 1-43rd Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 11th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command at Fort Bliss, Texas, was last seen on July 23, 2020, near his on-post barracks. He has not been seen since. In April 2024, an Army Board of Inquiry formally declared him deceased, determining that he died on the day he vanished. No remains have been recovered, and the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID) continues to treat the case as an open cold-case investigation.

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Richard Halliday is the much beloved son of Robert and Patricia Halliday, adopted at five years old from Poland. His father, Robert, served in the U.S. military, and the family lived in Germany during his service before continuing abroad in Germany and Ireland after he retired. This gave Richard a highly international childhood. He became comfortable adapting to new environments, learned German and Korean, earned a black belt in karate, and enjoyed travel, hiking, and camping.

In April 2018, while visiting his sister in South Korea, Richard enlisted in the U.S. Army. He trained as an operator on Patriot missile launchers and arrived at Fort Bliss in September 2018. A month later, he deployed to Qatar. Early reports were glowing: he excelled in training, earned medals and promotions (reaching Specialist before later demotion), finished first in assignments, and was the fastest runner in his unit. His performance in Qatar was strong, and he advanced faster than many peers.

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Things changed dramatically in early 2020. He began having problems with the leadership above him and expressed an interest in leaving the army. He was clearly under substantial stress but ultimately agreed to wait it out.

On January 25, El Paso police arrested Halliday for driving while intoxicated (DWI) with a blood-alcohol content of 0.115–0.116. Richard was flagged (meaning he could no longer receive any positive marks or promotions, no favorable actions). He also was instructed to participate in a pretrial diversion program (which he did not complete), and was given a $1,000 bond.

On March 2, 2020, Halliday was admitted to William Beaumont Army Medical Center’s behavioral health unit after cutting his arms and expressing suicidal thoughts. He was held for 72 hours and deemed unfit to carry a weapon or perform regular duties. The Army placed him under restrictions: he could not leave post, consume alcohol, or go unescorted (24-hour supervision was ordered).

On March 17, Richard bought a GTO Core AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle in El Paso for $618 and picked it up on March 27.

On March 27, after the solders returned from Qatar, an order was given by the commander to shelter in place. Solders were allowed to leave for fuel, food, medical appointments, and work assignments but otherwise were to remain on base. The order was issued at 9:00 pm and passed from the commander to a 1SGT who was to pass it on to the lower ranks. It is unknown if Richard actually knew about the order, given how late at night it was issued. The following day, March 28, U.S. Customs and Border Protection stopped him at the Bridge of the Americas after he briefly entered Mexico with the rifle and ammunition. Military police took custody of the weapon; no criminal charges were filed.

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The combined impact of his underage drinking charge and the disobeying the shelter in place charge resulted in Richard receiving non-judicial discipline under Article 15 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The records referred to a “pattern of misconduct” at the time. He was demoted from Specialist (E-4) to Private (E-1), forfeited half his pay for two months, received 45 days of extra duty and restriction to the base, and remained flagged. An administrative separation process began in April and continued into June.

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On June 17, 2020, Halliday evaded his escorts and purchased another weapon, a SCCY CPX-1 9 mm pistol for $323.67, along with a single 9 mm bullet. The handgun and bullet later went missing.

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On the evening of July 23, 2020, Halliday was observed leaving his barracks in civilian clothes: gray or turquoise cargo shorts, a gray T-shirt, a charcoal gray zip-up hoodie, and dark gray running shoes with red, yellow, and white paint stains. At 9:29 p.m., he sent a Facebook message to a friend: “I just wanted to say goodbye, finna end things don’t forget bout my request sorry n bye.” His device lost connection to the Fort Bliss barracks Wi-Fi at 9:40 p.m. He failed to report for duty the next morning and was initially classified as absent without leave (AWOL).

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Halliday’s parents in Florida had not heard from him and contacted his command on August 28, 36 days after he vanished. It was only then that they were told he had been labeled a deserter and that no search had been launched. The Army initially reported his passport missing (found a month later in his belongings in the barracks). He had spoken with his family the day before his disappearance with no indication he planned to leave.

“We were told our son was no longer there, that he was a deserter. . . . By then, it was day 36. So much time had passed. So much time wasted.”

– Patricia Halliday (NBC News, 2020)

A civilian witness later told the family she saw Halliday’s credit card in the possession of another soldier on September 26, 2020. She had met the soldier on a dating app and they agreed to meet at Sonic (a restaurant) that day. He volunteered to pay, but when he grabbed his wallet several cards fell out including a blue-and-white one with Richard’s name on it. The soldier allegedly claimed Halliday had fled to Cancun with a girlfriend and he was just using the card to make the army think Richard was still in the area. The military stated the witness recanted and the soldier did not have the card. The family maintained the witness told them she stood by her account. Halliday’s cards were later reported maxed out, but no public details confirm post-disappearance activity.

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CID opened a formal investigation on September 1, 2020. Agents logged over 540 hours, issued 50 subpoenas and five warrants, conducted 160+ interviews, and executed eight local searches. They examined the barracks and 80 other rooms, searched surrounding areas (homes, railroad tracks, homeless encampments, drainage ways, waterways, Franklin Mountains State Park, and Indian Peak Trail), and found no signs of foul play. The Army offered a $25,000 reward (later increased to $50,000). Searches and interviews continued, but no trace of Halliday emerged—no border crossings, financial activity, or digital footprint after July 23.

In 2021, Fort Bliss acknowledged leadership and treatment issues in Halliday’s battalion due to high training and deployment tempo. Policy changes followed regarding notification of missing soldiers and mental-health support.

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The Hallidays led their own search, posting flyers, appealing to the public, and asking people in Mexico to watch for information. They created the “Find Richard Halliday” Facebook page and launched a petition to rescind his Article 15, arguing it was unjust and that commanders misused the process. The article gives a commander authority to determine punishment where the offense is deemed minor (as opposed to requiring judicial proceedings). The petition highlighted the underage drinking and shelter-in-place incidents, the harsh punishment (extra duty in 90°F+ heat while masked), and the lack of mental-health monitoring for a soldier under severe stress. They asked that Richard’s Article 15 charge be removed and that present charges be delayed until the practice was reviewed and investigated.

Patricia Halliday has publicly stated she believes her son was murdered at Fort Bliss and that the Army’s investigation was inadequate. The family’s page and associated sites claim Richard was a whistleblower exposing cartel-linked trafficking (sex, child, weapons) on base, with ties to the 2019 El Paso Walmart shooting. They assert his death was later classified “in the line of duty” (a January 2025 Line of Duty determination) and that his remains were removed and trafficked to Mexico. Official Army records released via FOIA contain no evidence that Halliday filed whistleblower complaints or was involved in such investigations.

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On April 24, 2024, the Army notified the Halliday family that a Board of Inquiry had changed Richard’s status from missing to deceased, with the date of death listed as July 23, 2020. The board cited the preponderance of evidence, including the goodbye message, the sudden end of digital activity, the missing handgun and single bullet, prior suicidal ideation, and the absence of any post-disappearance activity. No manner or cause of death was officially determined, and no remains were recovered. The Army has suggested the remains are likely within roughly 50 miles of Fort Bliss.

CID continues to investigate as a cold case. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Fort Bliss CID office at 915-568-1700, Fort Bliss Military Police at 915-744-1237, or local law enforcement. Anonymous tips are accepted.

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The military as an employer had stationed Richard in a location of their choosing – apart from his family, friends, and anyone else who might have personally known to monitor his safety (his family were in Florida at the time). His location was uncertain at any given time with deployments and the possibility of being stationed elsewhere, making it difficult for him to have connections off base who would know when he was missing or not.

He was in a place the military chose, living on the military base, and under the responsibility of military commanders. This situation is not uncommon amongst global organizations, but it does place an ethical duty upon the employer to monitor the health and well-being of their workers. They failed in this duty when they did not alert authorities or his family upon his disappearance.

According to the base commander Major General Sean Bernebe, the standard procedure was such that a missing soldier was automatically assumed a deserter. No further actions or investigation required. This despite the fact that military personnel were potentially the only people in a position to note a problem and sound the alarm.

As late as September, the army was still reporting that Richard had left the base voluntarily and in violation of his orders (Link). However, none of the sources we found offer explicit evidence regarding anything surrounding Richard’s disappearance. Nothing seems to prove he ever left the base and even the source that shows he left his barracks is not clearly identified. Was there a video? Witnesses? Where did the description of the clothing come from?

Given the amount of security, oversight, and video recordings that are maintained on any base, it seems incredible that the military cannot determine when a soldier left, the path by which he left, or anything related to his leaving. This either speaks to a very serious lack of transparency or a serious failure of security. Either way, it is concerning.

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Multiple Victims?: No

Rumored or Actual Sightings:

*If the date says January 1, this is often just a placeholder for an unknown specific date. It usually means “sometime that year”.

Date the Body was Recovered:

Description: Unknown

Time of Death:

Cause of Death:

Recovered Remains (if partial):

Suspected Homicide?: No

Multiple Victims?: No

DNA Tested (No Match):

*If the date says January 1, this is often just a placeholder for an unknown specific date. It usually means “sometime that year”.

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License Plate:

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