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SOUTH SALT LAKE — It's been over five years since the body of Alejandro Reyes, 26, was found badly beaten, wrapped in heavy plastic and dumped in Butterfield Canyon.
But the hurt for his family hasn't gone away.
"I miss him, so much. And not just me. All my family. It was so hard to see him put underground," an emotional Angel Reyes, one of Alejandro's younger brothers, said through tears on Tuesday. "I hate that this happened to us."
Alejandro Reyes was last seen about 8 p.m. on Oct. 1, 2016, according to police. Edgar Reyes, another of Alejandro's younger brothers, said nothing seemed out of the ordinary that day. He had invited his brother, who lived in West Jordan, to his house that evening. Alejandro, however, said he was tired and wanted to stay at his home and watch a DVD, Edgar Reyes said.
Four days later, about 2 p.m. a hiker in Butterfield Canyon, discovered the tarp with blood on it and called police who verified a body was inside. The next day, Reyes' missing Toyota Tacoma was found abandoned in Riverton at an apartment complex, 12630 S. Legacy Springs.
An autopsy determined Reyes died from blunt force trauma. Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera said he was "beaten viciously." Police have not said where they believe he was killed or a possible motive. No arrests have been made in the case.
On Tuesday, Rivera, while standing next to two of Reyes' brothers, made a plea for anyone with information about the case — whether they saw something in Butterfield Canyon that day, or at the apartment complex where his truck was found, or if they simply knew Reyes — to step forward.
"Somebody knows. You don't just commit a violent crime and not say something to somebody," she said. "Somebody knows information about this case."
Somebody knows. You don't just commit a violent crime and not say something to somebody. Somebody knows information about this case.
–Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera
Rivera also had a message for anyone involved in Reyes's death.
"We're going to solve it. We're going to find out who you are. It's better for you to come forward and work with us on this rather than us have to go out and find you ourselves," she said. "We have one of our best detectives working on this case — detective Ben Pender."
Rivera said Pender and his team have collected DNA evidence of multiple possible suspects and are now in the process of trying to identify to whom the DNA belongs. Unified police declined to reveal much about their investigation on Tuesday or where the DNA was collected or whether it has even been compared to other DNA in national databases. However, with the right piece of information from the public, the sheriff hopes the DNA can be linked to a name.
Related:
Police identify body of man found in Butterfield Canyon
Police are investigating a man's death as a homicide after his body was found wrapped in plastic Wednesday in Butterfield Canyon.As Reyes' brothers wait for answers, they remembered him Tuesday as a "really great man" who would always be willing to help and who would bring his niece DVDs to watch.
"It's sad. It's hard for us, even after 5½ years, going on six years, that he's been taken from us. It still hurts us," Edgar Reyes said.
"He wasn't tied to anything bad that I knew of," Angel Reyes said, while adding that the family didn't know anyone who would want to harm him. "(He was a) great big brother to us, a great human being."
"We want to solve it for his family. We don't want those perpetrators who committed this crime to continue to be out in our community," Rivera added.
Anyone with information on the Alejandro Reyes murder investigation is asked to call police, at 801-840-4000.
