A Santa Clara father who vanished after a Super Bowl Sunday gathering was found dead six days later in San Tomas Aquino Creek near Levi’s Stadium, and police said they are investigating how he ended up in the water.
Authorities have not released the cause or manner of death for Thomas Simpkins, 44, whose family said his cellphone and wallet were missing when he was found. The case has also renewed questions from relatives about how missing-person reports move between neighboring police agencies during major events, and what investigators can say before the medical examiner’s work is finished.
Simpkins was last heard from on Feb. 8, the day Levi’s Stadium hosted the Super Bowl, when he went to a friend’s barbecue in South San Jose, his sister Brandi Stroud said. She said they had been texting that day. “Me and my brother text messaged a lot,” Stroud said. Stroud said Simpkins took an Uber back to his Santa Clara home around 9 p.m. and told her he planned to relax for the night. The next day, she said, he did not show up for work and did not call in. His 19-year-old son went to his father’s workplace in Palo Alto and learned he had missed his shift, Stroud told the San Francisco Chronicle. The family reported him missing soon after and began searching and posting flyers as days passed without word.
Santa Clara police said Simpkins’ body was found the afternoon of Feb. 14 in San Tomas Aquino Creek, a channel that runs alongside Levi’s Stadium. The department has described the case as an active death investigation and said the cause and manner of death have not been determined. The Santa Clara County medical examiner’s office is handling the autopsy and additional testing. In interviews, Stroud said investigators told the family final results could take months. Police have not said whether Simpkins showed signs of injury, whether he may have fallen into the creek, or how long he had been there before he was discovered.
The location of the recovery has fueled the family’s questions because the creek sits near one of the most closely watched areas in the South Bay. Levi’s Stadium drew tens of thousands of fans on Feb. 8 for the NFL title game, and the area around the stadium includes security fencing, cameras and controlled access during major events. San Tomas Aquino Creek also runs through parts of San Jose and Santa Clara and connects to a paved trail used by cyclists and walkers. In some stretches the waterway is open, while other sections run in underground channels. The creek’s path and the busy roads around the stadium can make it hard to explain, family members said, how Simpkins traveled miles from his home without anyone noticing.
Public descriptions of the watershed show the creek runs about 13.6 miles from the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains through several cities in Santa Clara County. Long sections follow San Tomas Expressway, including portions that run under the roadway and later under the median. The creek joins Saratoga Creek in Santa Clara and ultimately drains toward the southern end of San Francisco Bay. A bike and pedestrian trail follows the creek for part of its route, starting near Monroe Street in Santa Clara and continuing north. The mix of open water, trail access and covered channels means the creek can pass through busy neighborhoods while still having stretches that are hard to see from the street.
Stroud has said the search for her brother ran into a confusing handoff between jurisdictions at the start. She told the Chronicle that San Jose and Santa Clara police passed the case back and forth for about three days before San Jose police took the missing-person report. San Jose police said the agencies coordinated because the circumstances touched more than one city. “At no point was this case dismissed or ignored,” the department said in a statement. After Simpkins was found, Santa Clara police took the lead and said the case “was not delayed” and followed required investigative steps. Police have not said whether detectives have recovered the missing phone or wallet, or whether surveillance video or ride records have helped establish a clearer timeline after Simpkins got home.
Stroud said she learned about the discovery in a way that still upsets her. She told NBC Bay Area she did not know a body had been recovered near the stadium until “some random lady on Facebook sent me a link” to police scanner audio about a recovery in the creek. Stroud said she then contacted the medical examiner’s office and identified her brother by a large tattoo of his last name across his back. Authorities later confirmed the identity, she said. Stroud said the missing items and the distance from his home make it hard for her family to accept a simple explanation. “I don’t believe that my brother just decided to throw himself into a creek,” she said.
Santa Clara police have not said whether they are treating the case as a homicide. Stroud has said detectives described the investigation to her as a possible homicide, while the department has publicly called it a death investigation and declined to share details. The medical examiner’s work is expected to address basic questions, including whether Simpkins died in the creek or elsewhere and whether illness, injury, exposure or another factor played a role. Toxicology results can take weeks, and investigators sometimes wait for those findings before releasing a fuller timeline. Police have not said who found Simpkins in the creek or what drew searchers to that location on Feb. 14. They also have not said whether they have identified everyone who was with him at the barbecue, or whether they have determined if he returned to the stadium area on foot or in a vehicle.
Family members have described Simpkins as a steady presence who put work and family first. Stroud told the Chronicle that Simpkins was in the middle of a divorce and had planned to visit her and their mother in Oregon this spring. She said he loved going to the beach, taking his boxer dog, Kobe, on outings, and playing basketball with his 19-year-old son, who considered his father his best friend. A GoFundMe page set up for funeral costs called his death “unexpected” and said he was “a deeply loved son, brother, husband, father, and friend.” The fundraiser said the family planned to bring him from the Bay Area to Redding for burial.
The days between Simpkins’ disappearance and the recovery of his body were filled with searches in both San Jose and Santa Clara, relatives said, including hikes along trails and repeated checks of places he was known to visit. Stroud said social media helped spread his photo quickly, but she also said it was painful to feel that online posts and informal information were moving faster than official updates. Police have not said what they know about Simpkins’ last movements after he returned home, including whether anyone met him, whether he left again on his own, or whether he was taken somewhere against his will. Investigators also have not said whether they have ruled out an accident or a medical emergency.
Police have not announced any arrests or released a suspected cause of death, and the medical examiner’s findings remain pending. As of Saturday, Feb. 28, Simpkins’ family said it was preparing memorial arrangements while waiting for answers from investigators about what happened after Super Bowl Sunday.
Author note: Last updated February 28, 2026.