Eagle County coroner identifies body of missing child found in Eagle River

The Eagle County Coroner’s Office on Wednesday identified the body of a child found in the Eagle River east of Dotsero as Sebastian Rodriguez Castro, age 3. Here’s the official Eagle County press release:

The body of a child that was found on Friday, July 3 in the Eagle River just east of Dotsero has been identified as 3-year-old Sebastian Rodriguez Castro. The Eagle County Coroner’s Office says the cause of death is consistent with drowning and the manner is accidental.

Sebastian went missing on June 5. Hundreds of community volunteers joined representatives from every local emergency response agency in the search for him. Officials are asking that the family’s privacy be respected during this extremely difficult time. The 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 following local, state, and federal entities assisted in the search and recovery: 5th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, Avon Police Department, Colorado Bureau of Investigation, Colorado Department of Transportation, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Colorado River Fire Rescue, Colorado State Patrol, Delta County Search and Rescue, Eagle County, Eagle County Airport Fire Rescue, Eagle County Coroner’s Office, Eagle County Regional Airport, Eagle County Sheriff’s Office, Eagle County Transit, Eagle River Fire Protection District, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Garfield County Search and Rescue, Grand County Sheriff’s Office, Grand Fire Protection District, Greater Eagle Fire Protection District, Gypsum Fire Protection District, High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site, Larimer County Search and Rescue, National Institute of Missing and Exploited Children, Northwest Colorado Incident Management Team, Routt County Communications, Summit County Rescue Group, Timberline Tours, Vail Fire & Emergency Services, Vail Mountain Rescue, Vail Police Department, Vail Public Safety Communications Center, Vail Transit, and Vail Valley Salvation Army.

This announcement concludes the investigation and the Coroner’s Office will issue no further statements.