In a surprise move, Rio Grande County District Attorney Peter Comar has taken over the probe of a missing Monte Vista, Colo., and waitress and has instructed the sheriff to stop his investigation.

Danice Day, 19 (pictured, left), has been missing since Jan. 9. A spokesman for the sheriff's office said that she is believed to be dead and that officers have been looking for her body.

The district attorney's action follows a meeting between Sheriff Desi Medina and the county commissioners in which Medina explained that he had turned the investigation over to his undersheriff because Medina is good friends with Day's live-in boyfriend and his father.

The boyfriend, Victor Braun, told investigators he last saw Day the day she disappeared when she told him she was going out with a friend. That was the last time she was heard from.

In a letter to Medina, Comar cited the Feb. 27 meeting between Medina and the county commissioners in which Medina explained in great detail how he believed Day died. He said that Day told Braun she was going to leave him and he turned to strike her, but she moved at the last second, and he hit her in the throat, killing her. Victor Braun's father, Vern, was at the residence at the time of the incident, according to Medina.

The father of Denice Day told the Alamosa Valley Journal that he believed the sheriff's relationship with the Brauns played a role in the investigation.

"We just in our hearts wonder how soon would this have been solved if something had not been apparently covered up," Rod Day said. "It appears to us that something has been covered up."

Comar will rely on help from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to continue the criminal probe into Day's disappearance.

The single mother of two children worked at the Dos Rios restaurant in Monte Vista.

San Luis Valley Crimestoppers has offered a reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to the location of Day.