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Posted July 20
Family Hires PI to Investigate Suspicious Death
Albuquerque resident Arthur Chavez had been missing for six weeks before his body was found July 17 in a shallow part of the river, according to family members.
Albuquerque TV station KOB is reporting that while the family continues to grieve, they say they've also hired their own private investigator to figure out what happened in Red River.
"How can you drown in 18 inches of water, how? There is no possible way, well there is a way... if he was drugged or he was dragged," Chavez's brother Phillip Chavez said Saturday.
Chavez was in Red River the weekend of June 6 with extended family. He was last seen leaving a bar after a night of drinking and he reportedly fell down, injuring his head.
Chavez's brother Chris headed to Red River to help investigators identify the body.
"They just showed me pictures of his tattoos, and it was him," Chris said. "I was sad, but then, in another way, I was happy we found him. We weren't gonna stop 'til we found him."
Chavez's mother Mary suspects foul play in her son's death. "They did something to him and we want to know what it was. Who did it, and why they did it to him," she said.
State police say a cause of death hasn't been determined, and they're not saying if foul play was involved.
Chavez's family says they've hired their own private investigator, because in their eyes, his death was no accident.
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