TYLER, Texas — Friends and family of Alex Perez are looking for answers after investigators say foul play is suspected in his death.
Perez was last seen in late April leaving the Towne Oak Apartments in Tyler. A few days later his car was found about half a mile away. Following days of searching, Perez's body was found in a ditch near FM 346 between Troup and Whitehouse.
"He was always ready for a good time, he was always a yes, ‘do you want to do this, what do you think about this,’ and he was always up for it," Nikki Bamert, Perez's friend, said. "Now there’s so many other more questions to be asked and answers that we are seeking for and it’s a very difficult time to help family navigate through."
Perez was his mom’s sole provider, helping her with medical needs and treatment costs as she battled cancer, which is why his sudden disappearance didn't make sense.
"From the very beginning, Alex going missing wasn’t right," Bamert said. "I knew something was wrong because Alex would’ve never gone missing. Alex was a devoted son, and his mom was his world."
Friends have set up a GoFundMe to help with medical costs for Perez's mother.
Now, attention turns to who is responsible for his death.
"We want that top priority, we want his mom and his family to have closure, his friends to have answer and the people or person that was involved to have consequences," Bamert said.
Tyler police spokesperson Andy Erbaugh said evidence collected from Perez’s car and where his body was found is being processed.
"We got some back, some of it still waiting," Erbaugh said. "We do have some information from what we found in the county that our investigators are working on."
But for now, memories are all friends and family have.
"He had a certain way he would say my name when we were being silly and having fun. Just a segment of life that was cut too short," Bamert said.