Long Story Short (detailed version below):

Toni Riess, a devoted dog mom and friend to all she encounters, went missing for about 43 hours in the high desert foothills behind her home in Stagecoach, NV. We know that she went after her escaped dog, but the details are unclear as to how she ended up down a ravine about a mile from her car and out in the elements over two freezing nights. She is heavily sedated in the ICU and on a ventilator suffering from the effects of severe hypothermia and exposure. In addition to life-changing physical effects and emotional trauma, she and her husband are facing crushing expenses from her emergency air medical transport, mounting hospital bills, future rehabilitation, and lack of income while Toni recovers. While they are fiercely independent and hate to ask for help, we hope their extended community might be able to offer them some financial support during this difficult time. We are deeply appreciative of healing thoughts, prayers, kind words, and any monetary assistance you can provide.

We would also love for you (or your kids) to draw a picture of an animal for Toni. We will put them up in her hospital room to help lift her spirits. She loves animals and some of her favorites are dogs, owls, bats, sea turtles, and penguins. You can email a picture or scan of your drawing to: Animals For Toni @ g m a i l . c o m (remove spaces).

You can also send a contribution for Toni’s medical expenses directly to Toni’s husband, Ryan Suhrie, via Venmo: @Ryan-Suhrie

Note that GoFundMe automatically selects an optional 15% contribution to them, be sure to slide the slider down to 0% if you do not want to give that additional, optional contribution to the website.

From our family to yours, thank you for caring.

-Kayla (Toni’s Sister-in-Law)

The Long Story:

On Monday, April 17, 2023, Toni Riess was running errands with her dogs. Her husband, Ryan, was working out of state. Toni texted him at 8:30 pm, letting him know that she was making one more stop and would text him when she was home. Knowing that she was close to home and tired after a 12-hour day at work, Ryan fell asleep. Toni last talked to a friend at 10:30 pm, telling them that her spirited beagle, Sake, had escaped and she was looking for the dog.

Around 6:30 am on Tuesday, April 18th, Ryan got a phone call from an employee at the market down the street from their home- Sake the Beagle had shown up there. A neighbor held onto the dog while Ryan called Toni repeatedly but received no answer. He contacted the Lyon County Sheriff's Office (LCSO) and asked them to conduct a welfare check. When they did, they couldn’t find Toni or her vehicle, but everything at the house looked normal. LCSO began to search for her with the assistance of Lyon County Search and Rescue and Ryan left work to begin the 19-hour drive back to Stagecoach.

At about 1:15 pm, LCSO found Toni’s car abandoned off to the side of an unpaved road about 3 miles from the house. It was stuck in the sand and had a damaged rear bumper from driving on the rough road. Her gentle Irish Wolfhound, Soju, was locked in the car and was, luckily, just fine. However, we knew something had gone wrong- Toni would never willingly abandon her pup.

The Sheriff’s Office and Search and Rescue continued to look for her throughout Tuesday on the ground and using helicopters and drones. When Ryan and other family members arrived in the early hours of Wednesday morning, they also searched for her as best they could.

LCSO and SAR continued their investigation and search on Wednesday, calling in special helicopters from nearby Washoe County, and searching with dogs and on horseback. At about 5:30 pm they finally located Toni down a ravine, about a mile from where her car was found. She was conscious, but incoherent, suffering from severe hypothermia. Temperatures had been below freezing on both nights she was out in the elements, and it had snowed on the first night. She was transported via an emergency medical helicopter, Care Flight, to the local trauma center, Renown Regional Medical Center, in Reno, NV.

Medical staff worked swiftly to warm up Toni’s body without traumatizing her heart. Her core temperature when she was brought in was between 84- and 86-degrees Fahrenheit. By 8:30 pm, Toni had warmed up enough that she was admitted to the ICU and Ryan was finally able to see her. She was coherent, but exhausted, and it was difficult for her to talk beneath her oxygen mask. She confirmed that she had gone looking for the beagle, Sake, and tried to share more of the story, but didn’t have the energy to continue.

Since then, she has been heavily sedated to allow her body to rest and recover. She has undergone several rounds of dialysis and is on breathing and feeding tubes. While she had no head injuries, internal bleeding, or broken bones, she is still suffering from the effects of hypothermia, as well as frostbite, pressure ulcers, and a variety of bruises, cuts, and abrasions. Her condition is stable, but she will need to undergo additional medical procedures and her recovery and rehabilitation is expected to go on for quite some time. Some of the medical issues from her ordeal will be life-altering. At this time, we don’t want to share any additional details until Toni can chime in; we know that the trauma from this is not just physical, but also mental and emotional and we don’t want to add to it.

Both Sake the Beagle and Soju the Irish Wolfhound are healthy after each had difficult nights. They very obviously miss Toni, who had never spent a night away from them before this (apologies to the neighbors if they bark more than usual as Sake and Soju continually hope that every passing sound is their mom coming home). We know that when she can return home their presence will be therapeutic to her as she continues to heal and engage in rehabilitation.

We are immensely grateful to the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office and Search and Rescue as well as their partnering agencies for dedicating all their resources to finding Toni. While we lament that she was not found sooner, we know they worked very hard to find her quickly and save her life- she would not have survived another night in the elements. We’re also overwhelmingly appreciative of the Care Flight team and the Doctors, Nurses, and Staff at Renown Regional Medical Center who stabilized Toni and are caring for her with skill and compassion. Additionally, we thank all those who have offered and continue to offer their prayers and healing thoughts for Toni, as well as her husband and family.

We still have many questions about how things transpired with Toni that first night and how she ended up in the position she was found in. We hope that Toni will be able to share some of those details when she is physically able.

If you don’t know Toni personally- she is a vibrant, creative young woman who is fiercely loyal to those she loves and makes friends wherever she goes. She loves animals, cooking, literature, political science, and live music. She has spent much of her life supporting and caring for her biological and chosen family, and we hope that her family, friends, and greater community might be able to help support her at this time. Toni and Ryan were married less than a year ago, and we are heartbroken that this traumatic experience will impact the rest of their lives.

Unfortunately, due to the nature of their work (employed by a small business and by contract), Ryan and Toni do not have health insurance, making the financial burden of this ordeal even more sobering. Ryan is also missing work without pay while he supports Toni in her recovery. We want Toni to be able to focus on healing and recovering, and for Ryan to be able to care for her as she does, instead of being continually overwhelmed by the medical expenses they face.

Anything you can contribute to supporting Toni and relieving the financial burden on her family is greatly appreciated! We are also grateful for continued prayers and healing thoughts for Toni.

Whether or not you’re able to donate, could you or your kids draw a picture of an animal for Toni? We will put them up in her hospital room to help lift her spirits. Some of Toni’s favorite animals are dogs, owls, bats, sea turtles, and penguins. You can email a picture or scan of your drawing to: Animals For Toni @ g m a i l . c o m (remove spaces).

You can also send a contribution for Toni’s medical expenses directly to Toni’s husband, Ryan Suhrie, via Venmo: @Ryan-Suhrie

Note that GoFundMe automatically selects an optional 15% contribution to them, be sure to slide the slider down to 0% if you do not want to give that additional, optional contribution to the website.

From our family to yours, thank you for caring about Toni, Ryan, Sake, and Soju.

-Kayla (Toni’s Sister-in-Law)