On Feb. 27, 2023, 21-year-old Eduard “Lalo,” Castaneda and two of his friends went out to the casino in Cripple Creek. While his friends returned home, Lalo didn’t. Three days later, his body was discovered along Colorado 67 in Teller County.

A year has passed since the death investigation was launched by Teller County Sheriff’s Office officials, and Castaneda’s family remains in search of answers.

“I was praying he was in jail, or something. The last thing on my mind was that he would actually be gone,” Lalo’s sister, Maria Castaneda, told The Gazette.

Castaneda said she spoke to her brother the night of Feb. 26 when Lalo and his two friends set out to Cripple Creek for a night at the casinos. Castaneda, who was working graveyard shifts to support Lalo and her newborn son, said she had a weird feeling the next morning when he wasn’t back at their house in Fountain and she still hadn’t heard from him.

On the afternoon of Feb. 27, Lalo was reported missing. It would be two more days until his body would be discovered next to a perimeter fence right off Colorado 67 in Divide. 

Maria Castaneda, the sister of Eduardo “Lalo” Castaneda, and her son, Jayden, celebrated her birthday at her brother’s graveside with friends and family on Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024. (Photo by Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette)

According to Castaneda, search efforts were led by law enforcement alongside Lalo’s extended family and friends. 

“It was so cold when we (the family) were looking for him, you know when you go outside and your fingers instantly freeze,” Castaneda said.

Castaneda said the friends Lalo was with the night he disappeared, “stayed quiet,” claiming they hadn’t seen Lalo since he had gotten out of the car on their way back to Fountain from Cripple Creek. 

According to Castaneda, the two friends Lalo was with told the family they, “lost him,” when the group had pulled over on the side of the road for Lalo to use the bathroom. 

Attempts to reach the two friends present the night of Lalo’s disappearance for this article were unsuccessful. 

Lalo’s body was discovered on March 2, 2023, in an area along Colorado 67 Maria claimed law enforcement had searched the previous day.

“The police had said they had already searched the area really well and said they didn’t find anything. Did they actually look there? Was he (Lalo) moved there?” Castaneda said. 

Lalo’s body was found so frozen that an autopsy couldn’t be completed for days. 

According to the Teller County Coroner’s Office, Lalo died from a skull fracture between 1:30 and 3:30 a.m. on Feb. 27. He reportedly was last seen by witnesses, however, between 2 and 3 a.m. in Woodland Park the same morning, according to the Sheriff’s Office. 

The Sheriff’s Office claimed they were still investigating the death as suspicious. Lalo’s autopsy remains sealed, and no answers have been provided as to why. The case remains open, unsolved.

Multiple attempts were made to contact the Teller County Sheriff’s and Coroner’s offices, but both refused to comment on the status of the investigation.

“Unfortunately, because it’s an active case we cannot comment and we have no update to provide,” Lt. Renee Bunting said. 

Maria said her brother’s death created a hole in her life and the lives of her family that cannot be filled or replaced.

“He was a person who would put his friends first, and he would put himself wherever he fit. He loved soccer, was very outgoing, and loved to hang out with his friends,” she said.

“He would thank me for having a baby because it made him want to be a better person.”

Eddie Hurt, Lalo’s high school varsity soccer coach for two years, shared the sentiment of Lalo’s character.  

“Lalo was a fun-loving young man with a ton of personality,” Hurt said.

The family and friends of Eduardo “Lalo” Castaneda, who died a year ago, was spending time at the graveside of Palo and also allowing his sister, Maria Castaneda, to spend her birthday with her brother. Last year, Castaneda went missing on Feb. 27 and his body was found 3 days later by the Teller County Sheriff’s Office along Hwy. 67 between Divide and Cripple Creek. The gathering was held at his gravesite at Evergreen Cemetery on Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024. (Photo by Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette)

“My memories of Lalo are that he reminded me a lot of myself when I was in high school; not serious enough about my academics, more worried about my friends and having fun. That being said, he was a very selfless person.”

Hurt called anyone who may know anything regarding the events that led to Lalo’s death to step forward.

Castaneda said she frequently will take her son — Lalo’s nephew, to visit the site of his grave.

“My brother wanted to be there for my baby. He (Lalo) would say, ‘I never want him to need anything,'” she said. 

On Feb. 25, Maria’s birthday, Lalo’s family gathered at the Pikes Peak Cemetery to celebrate his life and a year since his passing. Flowers and photographs surrounded the grave site as the family gathered with lawn chairs to remember, and relish in each other’s company. 

“Lalo, for me he was always like a little best friend,” Castaneda said. 

“To this day, I’m trying to be happy, but I’m never going to be the same. “

The family and friends of Eduardo “Lalo” Castaneda, who died a year ago, was spending time at the graveside of Lalo and also allowing his sister, Maria Castaneda, to spend her birthday with her brother. Last year, Castaneda went missing on Feb. 27 and his body was found 3 days later by the Teller County Sheriff’s Office along Hwy. 67 between Divide and Cripple Creek. The gathering was held at his gravesite at Evergreen Cemetery on Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024. (Photo by Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette)