UPDATE: Missing Redding man’s body recovered from A.C.I.D. canal

UPDATED: Friday, June 28, 5 p.m.

REDDING — Officials searching for a missing Redding man announced today that the victim’s body was recovered today from Redding’s A.C.I.D. canal, as his grieving family stood by and solemnly observed. The victim had been reported missing “under suspicious circumstances” late last week and concerned family members have been pleading for information since.

LEADING THE SCNS HEADLINES:

SUV passing on curve before 299E head-on crash with big-rig

Hours-long Redding standoff ends with arrest of wanted felon

Firefighters knock down Cottonwood blaze

26-year-old Steven Casas was last seen shortly before 1 a.m., June 21, in the area of Hartnell Ave. and Churn Creek Rd.

After filing a missing person report with Redding PD, the missing man’s wife and other family members quickly made fliers and began circulating them throughout Redding and on social media. They also later offered a $2,000 reward, with pleas for information about their missing loved one they described as a loving husband and devoted father to three children.

Redding PD also later put out a social media release with requests for any information that could lead to locating Casas. Although their release indicated that the missing man had disappeared under suspicious circumstances, they did not specify what they found suspicious.

Frantic family members created fliers that were spread throughout the community as well as on numerous social media pages.

At around 10:15 a.m. this morning, Friday, June 28, investigators and others were conducting a search for Casas along the Anderson-Cottonwood Irrigation District (A.C.I.D.) canal, when they discovered his body in the canal, about 200 yards south of Cypress St.

“Brambles and steep, slippery, banks made the retrieval dangerous,” Redding Police Sergeant Todd Cogle later reported; saying the decision was made to call in additional resources from Redding Fire Department and Shasta County Sheriff’s Dive Team.

Members of the Sheriff’s Dive Team eventually entered the water, and with the assistance of Redding firefighters, officials were able to safely retrieve Casas’ body.

Although Cogle did not say what led investigators to the canal, he said Casas’ family had been notified and was on scene at the time of the missing man’s recovery. 

Cogle also explained that no signs of foul play have been discovered yet, and that “no obvious signs of trauma were located, however an autopsy will be conducted to determine the cause of death.”

In a social media update after Casas’ body was recovered, Redding PD took the time to thank the local business community “for their continued support,” saying the department received “significant amounts of cooperation in this investigation from local businesses along Cypress Street.” 

“Without their assistance, locating Steven Casas would have been much more difficult,” said officials.

Anyone with information about this ongoing investigation is encouraged to contact Redding PD at (530) 225-4200. Callers can refer to incident file number 19R039618 and can remain anonymous.

---

Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery, 47, moved last year to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, The Valley Chronicle, and Anza Valley Outlook; as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County and Mountain Echo in Shasta County.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.

Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.

Trevor has been married for more than 28 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 15 – but soon to be 16 – grandchildren.