Jordan Britten, a 20-year-old Texas college student who went missing on spring break, was found dead Wednesday, and his death has been labeled “suspicious” by law enforcement.
A spokesman for the City of South Padre Island would not yet say if Britten’s death was being classified as a homicide,
pending autopsy and toxicology results, The Austin American-Statesman reported.
Britten, of Killeen, went missing March 20 after meeting friends for a weekend in South Padre, the Statesman said. He had attended a concert at the Schlitterbahn Resort. As the search for him intensified, police reported they found narcotics in Britten’s car, which was located near the concert venue.
Action 4 News reported that Britten was found face down and dressed only in his underclothes. The station also reported that the drugs found in Britten’s car were believed to be liquid ecstasy, molly, marijuana, and packaged pills.
“Right now, we don’t have any reason to call it a homicide, so it’s not going to be labeled as such. It’s suspicious activity,” Police Chief Randy Smith told Action 4. “It’s an open investigation with no real label yet. We don’t see any signs of obvious trauma. There’s nothing to instantly indicate a cause of death, so we ... are waiting on the autopsy to give us clear direction.”
As the news of Britten’s death became known, a candlelight vigil was scheduled for Friday evening in Copperas Cove, Texas. On a
Facebook page for the event, one person posted a short bio of the young man, saying that he was enrolled at Central Texas College in the Aviation Science program, hoping to one day become a pilot. “Jordan was a dedicated Boy Scout. He reached the rank of Eagle Scout, which requires a lot of hard work and dedication. He loved the Scouts so much that he decided to become an adult Boy Scout leader to help others,” it said. “Jordan will always be remembered as being full of life and laughter. His light will shine on.”
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