Misty Upham's Body Formally Identified, Family Rail At Auburn Police

The body Misty Upham, the Native American actress best known for her role in August: Osage County, has been identified by a coroner in Seattle.

Misty Upham's body has been formally identified.

Upham's body was discovered on Thursday (16th Oct.) in Auburn, Washington after she had been missing for more than a week. Upham was last seen on 5th October and her family reported her missing the following day. Her body was discovered at the bottom of a 150 food river embankment near to where Upham was last seen, close to the Muckleshoot Indian Reservation.

The King County Medical Examiner, according to Reuters, has estimated the time of Upham's death as 5th October. Although a course of death has not been ruled by the coroner, Upham's family suspect the 32-year-old's death may have been the result of an accident.

The police received a suicide call from the apartment where Upham lived and the family believe Upham was attempting to hide from police when she slipped and fell. The Upham family have kept Upham's fans up to date with the latest developments in the case via Facebook.

Misty Upham
Upham's family are claiming the police were reluctant to help in the search.

In a statement, posted on Friday (17th Oct.), Upham's father Charles stated: "We believe that Misty's death was accidental. She did not commit suicide. We believe she ran into the wooded area behind her apartment to hide from the police. The area in question has a hidden drop off and evidence suggests that she slipped and fell off of the steep embankment when she tried to get out of a view from the road."

Charles further claimed his daughter had "good reason" to be afraid of the police and listed a series of alleged incidents where Upham and the police had dealings. Charles also explained how his daughter had suffered from mental illness and he claimed she had not received adequate support and understanding either from the treatment centre she had been attending or the police.

The statement also addresses reports the Auburn police had been slow to help in the search for Upham and had not taken her circumstances or vulnerable state into consideration. A family friend, Tracy Rector, claimed the family had difficulty with the police. Rector, as Reuters reports, stated the police "chose not to act when the family pleaded with them to help."

Misty Upham
Upham's body was discovered in Washington State on Thursday.