The family of a Bay Area man is demanding answers after he was found dead in a creek near Levi's Stadium nearly a week after disappearing on Super Bowl Sunday.
Thomas Simpkins, 44, a Santa Clara resident and father, was discovered on 14 February in San Tomas Aquino Creek, which runs alongside the stadium where the Seattle Seahawks defeated the New England Patriots on 8 February. His sister, Brandi Stroud, told the San Francisco Chronicle that his death is being investigated as a possible homicide. Simpkins leaves behind three stepchildren and one biological son and was in the midst of a divorce.
Simpkins was last seen the night of the Super Bowl after attending a barbecue in South San Jose with friends. He reportedly took an Uber home around 9pm, planning to relax after the festivities, according to texts shared with his sister. The next day, his 19-year-old son went to the Palo Alto restaurant where his father worked and learned that he had missed his shift. The family filed a missing persons report after being unable to reach him.
Stroud, who lives in Oregon, travelled to the Bay Area to help search for her brother. She only learned that a body had been recovered in the creek after a stranger sent her a link to police scanner audio on Facebook. She identified her brother by a large tattoo of his last name across his back. His phone and wallet were missing when police found him.
Stroud claimed that the case was delayed three days as neighbouring city police passed it back and forth before San Jose police took over. 'There was a huge delay. They didn’t take my brother’s case seriously at all,' she told the San Francisco Chronicle. The San Jose Police Department denied any delay, stating in a statement to The Independent that both agencies worked to ensure the matter was addressed in accordance with investigative protocols and jurisdictional requirements.
