A 16-year-old boy who had gone missing in Colorado has been found dead in a ravine by a relative. Matthew Alfaro’s body was found three days after he vanished from a family gathering in Colorado.
The search for the teen began after he left a party on the night of Friday, November 6, relatives confirmed to NBC affiliate KUSA. Alfaro was intoxicated at the time, and loved ones believed that he was walking a short distance to another family member’s home. However, he never arrived, and his family started looking for him the next morning
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The Milliken Police Department issued an alert about Alfaro’s disappearance on Monday, November 9.
What we know about Matthew Alfaro’s disappearance
According to officials, Alfaro was last seen in Milliken and had brown hair and brown eyes.
“He was last seen wearing a grey sweatshirt, blue shirt, baggy dark blue jeans, and white tennis shoes,” authorities previously said.
A relative found the teen dead on the same day the alert was issued. His body was found in a ravine near Highway 257, less than a mile from where he was last seen, KUSA reported.
Officers responded to the area east of Highway 60 and Highway 257, mile marker 1, on Monday, after a report that a body had been found matching the description of Alfaro, police said in an update. Officials later confirmed that it was indeed the missing teen, adding that an autopsy is pending.
“After preliminary investigation, we believe that alcohol may have been a factor in his death,” police continued. “The cause remains under investigation.”
“We as family found our nephew, son, and grandson, deceased in this ravine back here,” Alfaro’s uncle, Jesse Alfaro, told KUSA. “We found him, and we had to notify the cops, where we found him three days later.”
He said that Afraro was a photographer who was praised by his teachers.
“This is a huge loss to us and a huge tragedy to our family,” Jesse added.