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Super Bowl murder mystery as missing dad found dead in creek 6 miles from home after party near Levi’s Stadium

A DAD who vanished on Super Bowl Sunday was found dead in a creek next to Levi’s Stadium, and his family says key belongings are missing as cops dig into what happened.

His sister says his cellphone and wallet are gone, and she believes the case is being looked at as a possible homicide.
Thomas Simpkins, 44, was discovered on February 14 in Santa Clara, California in a creekCredit: GoFundMe
 
Simpkins’ sister said he did not attend the Super Bowl at Levi’s StadiumCredit: Getty
Thomas Simpkins, 44, was discovered on February 14 in Santa Clara, California, in the San Tomas Aquino Creek that runs beside the 49ers’ stadium.

He lived in Santa Clara and was reported missing after returning home from a friend’s barbecue on February 8.

Brandi Stroud, Simpkins’ sister, told the San Francisco Chronicle he did not attend the Super Bowl at Levi’s Stadium but was at a party nearby.

She said he took an Uber back and got home at around 9 pm that night.

By the next day, he had vanished.

When his 19-year-old son stopped by the Palo Alto fine dining restaurant where Simpkins worked, he learned his dad hadn’t shown up or called in.

Stroud and her husband drove from Oregon to the Bay Area and launched a frantic search, posting fliers and flooding social media.

She said she hiked trails in both San Jose and Santa Clara while trying to trace his last movements.

Stroud claimed police in the two neighboring cities bounced the case back and forth for three days before San Jose took it.

“There was a huge delay,” she said.

“They didn’t take my brother’s case seriously at all.”

Santa Clara police, however, pushed back and said, “This case was not delayed and was investigated with the protocols and investigative steps required.”

Investigators took the lead after his body was found in the creek behind the stadium, six days after the Super Bowl was held there.

Stroud said a woman contacted her on February 14 and shared scanner traffic suggesting a body had been located.

She identified the man as her brother by a tattoo reading “Simpkins” across his shoulder blades, she said.

The medical examiner’s office said the cause and manner of death have not been determined, and “further investigation” is pending.

Stroud said she felt both relief and anger, adding, “I was praying that at least if he didn’t come home alive, that we’d find him.”

“How my brother ended up in the creek” is still unclear, she said.

“That’s the part that’s killing my family.”

She later thanked people who shared her posts, saying, “Without social media, I wouldn’t have found my brother in time.”

The family has launched a GoFundMe to bring Simpkins home to Redding so he can be buried beside his father and brother.