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It is probably the hardest thing I've ever had to do, especially because I feel like I've been robbed of four years of his life.

I'm not gonna happen for the rest of my life. They took that closure away from me.

It's not I wanted to see him for the last time. You're never ready to let go of a loved one.

But because we were so close, it just feels like they took a part of me and nothing is the same anymore.

It's just half of me is gone and I couldn't even get a proper closure because they took that from me.

On December 25, 2017, 28-year-old Ever Arozco left his sister's home in Weld County, Colorado, headed for New Mexico with his girlfriend.

The plan was to pack up his girlfriend's belongings in New Mexico and move back to Colorado to start a new life, away from the shady characters that had surrounded his life for the past few years.

But Ever Arozco never made it back to start that new life, and wouldn't be seen or heard from again.

In fact, leads dried up quickly after he vanished. So when he was found deceased at the top of a mountain nearly three years later, his family and law enforcement would be left with very few clues, but no shortage of questions that remain unanswered today.

I'm Marissa and from Wondery, this is episode 332 of The Vanished, Ever Arozco's story.

Natasha Leach is a victim's advocate for a nonprofit organization in Colorado.

In May of 2018, she interviewed Anae Arozco, the older sister of Ever, who had not seen her brother in nearly six months and wasn't sure where to turn.

It wasn't uncommon for Ever to go some time without seeing his sister, especially since he had taken a job with a new friend in New Mexico several hours away.

But the siblings had always shared a close relationship. Natasha contacted us about covering Ever's case in 2021.

Even though it was a little different than the usual type of cases we cover, we asked Natasha to tell us first who she is and how she became acquainted with Ever's family.

So my name is Natasha Leach, and I live in Denver, Colorado. I got connected with families of homicide victims and missing person, which is a nonprofit that is local.

I believe we also have national chapters as well that provides advocacy and case analysis and just support for families of murdered and missing victims.

And I got connected through a board I was working on, Northern Colorado crime stoppers who had a board member, Robert Wells, who is the executive director of Fovamper, families of homicide victims and missing persons.

He asked if I would come on as a case analyst and advocate to work with the families due to my victim advocacy experience and my educational and professional background.

And I was given the Erosco family's information, specifically on a in I believe it was May 2018 and asked to start just interviewing her in the family or whoever would talk to me and get their perspective.

And then kind of work the case from there as a liaison between the family and law enforcement to hopefully move this case forward.

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