SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA — What began as a typical Super Bowl Sunday celebration in the Bay Area spiraled into a haunting mystery with a heartbreaking ending for the family of Thomas Simpkins, a 44-year-old California resident whose disappearance and death have left loved ones and investigators searching for answers.

Simpkins was last seen on February 8 after attending a gathering tied to Super Bowl festivities in San Jose. Around 9 p.m., he reportedly hailed an Uber to take him home and sent a message to his sister saying he planned to rest for the night. That brief communication proved to be his final known contact with family and friends.

When he failed to arrive for his scheduled shift at a Palo Alto restaurant the following day and did not respond to repeated attempts to reach him, a missing person report was filed soon after. Concern for his welfare mounted as hours ticked into days without word.

Nearly a week later, on February 14, the search came to a devastating conclusion when Simpkins’ body was discovered in San Tomas Aquino Creek behind Levi’s Stadium. The location — adjacent to one of the region’s most recognizable sports venues, still fresh from Super Bowl Sunday crowds — added an eerie layer of intrigue to an already tragic sequence.

What has particularly puzzled authorities and the community is the absence of Simpkins’ cellphone, which was missing when his body was found. Law enforcement has not publicly detailed whether the device was lost, taken or remains unaccounted for, but its absence has deepened the mystery surrounding his final hours.

Family members and friends have organized search efforts and remained in close contact with investigators, driven by a desperate desire to understand how a routine trip home could dissipate into a six-day search and such a sorrowful discovery. As officials continue to examine evidence and piece together what happened between that last message and the moment he was found, loved ones are left grappling with questions that have no easy answers.

The circumstances of his death remain under active investigation, and both authorities and family say they remain committed to uncovering the truth behind the tragic disappearance of a father whose final night is still shrouded in uncertainty.