The body of a missing Utah teenager, last seen entering a random home in a “confused” state, has been found. The Farmington Police Department found 19-year-old Mia Casto’s remains near Rudd Creek on Sunday afternoon after she was reported missing around 12:40 p.m. on Saturday.
Casto was last seen in home surveillance footage around 12:30 p.m. on Friday, wearing a long coat, baseball cap, and slippers, and holding what appeared to be a violin case as she walked toward Brad MacDonald’s house. While the exact cause of her death remains unknown, Farmington Police Chief Eric Johnsen told FOX 13 News that Casto appeared to have series “a series of falls.”
Death Shrouded in Mystery
As of now authorities believe that the “series of falls” could have led to Casto’s death, which was accidental. MacDonald told KSL-TV that he first assumed the teen was a friend of his daughter, but his family quickly realized she was a stranger.
After a brief conversation with his 16-year-old daughter, Casto abruptly left the house. “I told my daughter to follow her while I called the police, and so she followed her, and she walked out,” MacDonald recalled.
“She kind of walked over to the side of our house, and then they watched her walk across the road. There’s a trailhead that goes up into the backcountry up there.”
Officers arrived at MacDonald’s home shortly after, but Casto was already left by that time.
MacDonald told the outlet that he hadn’t known she was reported missing until neighbors and friends informed him on Saturday.
“I had felt guilty all day yesterday just knowing that she was here in our house, and we could have maybe stopped her or helped her more,” he said.
Family Devastated
On Saturday, the teen’s mother, Andrea Treseder, took to Facebook to urgently post details about her daughter’s disappearance.
“Looking for my daughter Mia Casto. She is missing and hasn’t been seen since the afternoon of November 1 Farmington. She is confused. Please contact 911 if you see her or know anything,” Treseder said, adding that “she loves animals.”
In a bid to help in the search for Casto, MacDonald and his wife gathered friends to help look for her on Sunday morning.
Later that same day, search teams, K-9 units, aerial drones, and two helicopters found her body, according to the Farmington City Police Department.
Reflecting on the heartbreaking news, MacDonald said, “It was very emotional. I think we all, especially those of us who went up and looked for her this morning, none of us knew her at all.
“But you feel a connection to her when you’re up there looking for her and then find out that she had passed away.”
A GoFundMe page has been set up to support the teen’s family and loved ones during this difficult time. As of Tuesday morning, more than $5,000 was raised for her grieving family.
