Amid public suspicion, Idaho-based officials have announced that Everette Jackson tragically died of drowning.

The tragedy occurred during a tubing excursion on Idaho’s Payette River on June 11. Jackson, who was a student-athlete at Louisiana State University (LSU), was visiting the Gem State in order to see his girlfriend, Graci Kolka.

The pair decided to go tubing with some others during Jackson’s visit, though he and Kolka ultimately became separated from the group after missing an exit point due to the powerful current.

Resultingly, Jackson — who reportedly wasn’t wearing a lifejacket — and Kolka exited their tubes and attempted to swim over to the riverbank. However, Jackson was ultimately swept farther downstream and missed another dock, according to KTVB.

“Graci said she tried to reach for Everett and he went underwater again. Graci stated she swam back to shore, saying it was very deep and the water was moving very fast. Graci said she got to shore and began screaming Everett’s name,” authorities noted in a report, per KTVB.

Sixteen officers eventually made it to the scene, though the search was fruitless.

“Unfortunately, on our search we found nothing,” a June 12 report said, per KTVB. “The conditions of the day were not that great, heavy rains at the time, with steady rain throughout. That, with the river flowing at a very high rate made searching very difficult.”

The body of Everette Jackson was ultimately discovered on June 19.

Now, Idaho officials have determined that Jackson’s presumed cause of death was “suffocation by drowning.”

“I did not observe any bruising, wounds, or ligatures,” the report said, according to KTVB.

Despite this report, some people have been side-eying the case since its inception, with the speculation seemingly stemming from Kolka and Jackson’s interracial relationship.

Now, Jackson’s family is continuing to take the necessary steps to move forward in the wake of the tragedy.

“Now that Everette has been laid to rest, we are beginning to try to take the steps in moving forward and getting some answers that we still long for,” the family wrote in a GoFundMe post. “We are asking for continued support in getting legal advice/help, seeking guidance and therapy with grief, and picking up the pieces of our lives that have been broken since the tragic news on June 11, 2022.”

The family also summed up the situation within the post.

“After a week long search, Everette Jackson 21, of Louisiana, was found in the Payette River in Emmett, Idaho. Where he had went to visit his college girlfriend whom took him tubing on the Payette River Saturday June 11. The River conditions were unsafe and Everette was not aware or familiar with the area or conditions for tubing,” they wrote.

“Unfortunately, we were told he was not able to escape the river when the current got rough and was swept away down the river,” the family continued.

It’s currently unclear what next steps the family is looking to take. Additionally, Graci Kolka appears to have privatized her Instagram account and deleted her Twitter in the wake of the tragedy and speculation.

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