UPDATE 3:25 p.m.:
The Austin Police Department confirmed the body found Monday is that of Martin Gutierrez.
The department is waiting on toxicology results from the Travis County Medical Examiner.
Original story:
As of Tuesday morning, Austin Police cannot confirm whether the body found in Lady Bird Lake Monday is related to any missing person’s case. However, after this body was discovered, loved ones of 25-year-old Martin Gutierrez have been taking to social media to mourn him, and confirmed Tuesday that he was the one found in the water.
“I lost my best friend…a void that will never be filled again,” Martin’s brother Mitchell posted on Facebook Tuesday morning.
Martin disappeared in the early morning hours of Nov. 19 after going out with friends on Rainey Street. Both Austin Police and Martin’s loved ones have spent the past week searching surrounding areas for him.
Martin is from Big Spring Texas and is a recent graduate of Texas Tech University. After that, he moved to Austin.
“Martin was the brother I could go to for everything and now he’s gone. I am lost with no idea what direction to go from here,” Mitchell continued in his Facebook post. “My family, friends, and community have come together in a way I never believed was possible in an effort to help me find him. I appreciate every text, call, message, posting, etc either sending prayers or providing assistance or advice to find him. Just keep our family in your thoughts and prayers…it helps more than you know. This world will always and forever be significantly less happy without Martin Gutierrez.”
Other family members and friends posted to Facebook late Monday and early Tuesday also grieving Martin. But, Mitchell has become the face of the search for his brother. The two were roommates, along with Mitchell’s girlfriend. They all lived together in Austin and had gone out for dinner together just before Martin disappeared.
Mitchell spoke with media outlets and organized dozens of volunteers, posted fliers and asked for surveillance video all around downtown Austin. Many of Martin’s immediate family members barely ate or slept over the past week, instead spending most of their energy planning search efforts.
As loved ones wait for official confirmation from the Medical Examiner’s office of the body pulled from the lake, questions still linger about what exactly happened to Martin the morning he disappeared.
His family members previously told KXAN that he had been out with friends on Rainey Street, he had gone to Lustre Pearl and purchased one drink (according to his bank records, family members say), then went with his friends to the Alibi, a bar next door.
Accounts from bars show Martin acting strangely before he disappeared
The Alibi told KXAN that staff at the bar refused to serve Martin alcohol because he seemed intoxicated and was acting strangely.
Drew Boone, the manager of The Alibi, explained that he personally watched all the surveillance video of Martin alongside an Austin Police detective. In the video, Boone didn’t see anything he thought looked suspicious. But he did see Martin hanging out with his friends and leaving the bar at 1:15 in the morning, running south down the street.
“We’re focused on finding Martin and giving all the help we can,” he said.
Boone’s account lines up with what Martin’s family had been saying: that Martin was seen on video leaving the Alibi at 1:15, running south down Rainey Street. Family members said Martin separated from his friends and was looking for a ride home at that time.
The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission told KXAN it opened an investigation Monday into the Alibi related to Gutierrez’s disappearance.
Chris Porter, a spokesperson for the commission, explained the investigation was prompted by news reports which included video of Gutierrez acting strangely at the Alibi.
“The investigation is in no way an indication of any violations on the part of the bar; this is standard procedure any time TABC learns of incidents involving a licensed business,” Porter said.
Mitchell Gutierrez had also seen the surveillance video and said the way Martin was acting “doesn’t add up.” He said it was out of character for Martin to be intoxicated like that and run out of the bar down the street. Mitchell noted that it almost appeared as though his brother was frolicking in the surveillance video, which is totally unlike him.
Both Lustre Pearl and the Alibi said they could not share their surveillance video with KXAN because they had already turned it over to police.
Austin police investigation
Helicopters and boats were deployed by law enforcement for several hours on Wednesday to search for Martin, however none of those resources were deployed again in the search after that date. Austin Police said Monday that “given the circumstances of the investigations and direction,” they didn’t deploy those resources again. They explained that the possibility that Martin could be in the water was never ruled out and that they had plans in progress to further search the water on Monday.
They noted that all possibilities were considered as places where Martin could be.
“However given our experience and circumstances surrounding the incident we emphasized searching the body of water,” said Sergeant Ron Lara with the Missing Person’s Unit said via email.
APD noted that around 20 APD personnel and around 10 Travis County Search and rescue team members helped in this search for Martin.
Related Story: Body found in Lady Bird Lake, near the search area for Tech grad
(Story from KXAN.com)
