RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) – Family and friends of a South Dakota woman are still looking for answers after police deemed her death last year an accident.
Investigators say 21-year-old Mariah High Hawk died of hypothermia. Her body was found under a utility trailer in Rapid City last February.
But High Hawk’s family and friends are calling for an independent investigation, saying she died after being abused because she had bruising on her head, arms and shoulders.
Her father, Delbert High Hawk, is leading the push to reopen his daughter’s case, and led a march Monday.
Police say prescription painkillers found in Mariah High Hawk’s blood likely clouded her judgment. Investigators believe she ran after her boyfriend following an argument and sought shelter under the trailer from freezing rain.
AP-WF-02-14-17 1923GMT