EAGLE COUNTY, Colo. – The body of a child found last Friday in the Eagle River near Dotsero has been formally identified by the county coroner as 3-year-old Sebastian Castro, who went missing on June 5.
The Eagle County Coroner’s Office said that the boy’s cause of death is “consistent with drowning” and his manner of death is accidental.
The boy went missing June 5 and was last seen at his apartment at Eagle Villas off Nogal Road. Authorities said it was a high probability that Sebastian fell into the river that runs behind Sebastian's complex.
Teams of hundreds of volunteers and rescue crews searched the river for weeks for the boy but had been unsuccessful in their efforts until last week, when the boy’s body was found in the river east of Dotsero.
The boy’s body was recovered more than 10 miles downriver from where he went missing.
The coroner’s office said that the boy’s family “expressed their gratitude for the efforts to find Sebastian and the outpouring of community support.”
“I thank the community for being patient as we followed this Office’s process for confirming the identity of a recovered body,” said County Coroner Kara Bettis. “We hope this announcement brings closure to the family and a measure of healing to our caring community.”
The coroner’s office said its announcement that Castro had been identified “concludes the investigation.”
