The U.S. Department of Justice has stepped in to investigate the mysterious death of a Texas physical therapist who disappeared late last year.

Alfred Wright, 28, a resident of Jasper, Texas was last seen alive November 7 when he stopped at a liquor store because he was having car trouble. 

From CNN:

Local law enforcement authorities searched but gave up. His family found his partially clothed body 19 days later in an area that officers had supposedly searched.

Adding more confusion, a medical examiner said the death was accidental, but a different pathologist hired by the family said there appeared to be “severe trauma” to the body.

Read more at CNN

Wright’s family says he called from the CL&M Grocery on Route 87, asking someone to pick him up due to problems with his truck. When they arrived he was gone.

Wright’s personal affects turned up on a nearby ranch but the search him yielded nothing. The sheriff determined that there was “no foul play” and that Wright’s disappearance was most likely drug-related.

No word on how the Justice Department will proceed with the investigation.

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