(Butte County, CA) — According to family members, The body that was found in the Feather River on Sunday by a fisherman has been identified as 22-year-old Julio Gutierrez, who went missing back on Aug. 18, when his vehicle was found in the Thermalito afterbay.
Deputies began their investigation into the disappearance of Gutierrez that day and were able to determine that Gutierrez did not return home from an event that he was attending in Biggs. As the investigation progressed, authorities said that evidence of a crash was located on Larkin Road, near the Thermalito Afterbay Release Station.
The Butte County Sheriff’s Office says that deputies were concerned that the vehicle involved in the crash had left the roadway and was possibly submerged in the water. Deputies were able to identify the vehicle as the one belonging to Gutierrez, but Gutierrez was not found inside the vehicle.