$5,000 Reward In Burglary Of Grieving Walnut Creek Family
WALNUT CREEK (BCN) -- Police have been searching for suspects in the Thursday burglary of a home belonging to a Walnut Creek family that was attending their teenage son's funeral, and now an anonymous citizen is offering a $5,000 reward.
The family of Matthew Miller, one of two teens who drowned last weekend in a Walnut Creek waterway, returned to their home at Homestead Ave. around 12:30 p.m. and discovered the house had been broken into and burglarized, police said.
A computer, jewelry and documents were among the items pilfered from the home, police said.
Saturday, Matthew, 16, and his friend Gavin Powell, 17, had told their families they were going rafting in a nearby aqueduct or creek around 2 p.m., according to the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office.
Their bodies were found Sunday morning in the Walnut Creek waterway in Concord.
Both boys were students at Las Lomas High School, and a candlelit vigil attended by hundreds of friends and family members was held in their honor Wednesday night at Sutherland Open Space.
Police said the department and the reward's backer hope that the reward will encourage someone to come forward with information necessary to prosecute one or several perpetrators responsible.
The anonymous citizen put up the reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Walnut Creek police Detective Rick Baca at (925) 256-3534 or police dispatch at (925) 935-6400.
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