Following three days of vigils held over the weekend, the family of Gaspar Soto-Reza is calling on the Boone County Sheriff’s Department to deepen its investigation into the man’s death.
Soto-Reza was first reported missing on Sunday, August 2 at a sub-division lake north of Columbia. The sheriff’s department and Boone County Fire Protection District located his body in the lake two days later.
After conducting an autopsy, Boone County Detective Tom O’ Sullivan said the sheriff’s department believes Soto-Reza entered the lake of his own accord.
“At this point there are no indications of foul play,” O’ Sullivan said. “It appears drowning is the cause of death.”
But Carlos Sanchez, Soto-Reza’s brother-in-law, said his family feels the case around Soto-Reza’s death isn’t as simple as the report from the sheriff’s department indicates.
“We want to know what really happened,” Sanchez said. “We have a lot of questions for them and we want answers.”
Sanchez said last weekend’s vigils were meant to put pressure on officials to look deeper into the death.
O’Sullivan said the family has not contacted the sheriff’s department about these concerns. The department is currently waiting on a toxicology report before furthering its investigation.
