Jason Futch, Suwannee Valley Unsolved
Contributor
Fourteen-year-old Sergio Diego Domingo was living the American dream. An immigrant from Guatemala, he had traveled with relatives throughout parts of the United States until settling in with his uncle in Jennings. During the weekdays, Domingo attended Hamilton County High School. Miguel Marrero, a former paraprofessional at the school, remembered Domingo fondly.
“Sergio was a role model student who had many friends,” said Marrero. He also recounted how intellectual Domingo was as a student. “What made him stand out was his intellect. He spoke three languages, worked on the weekends and was devoted to learning.”
Domingo was also working as a laborer on the weekends to make money. He would join fellow migrant workers in the watermelon fields to save up for college when he graduated. He was also sending money to his parents, who lived in Guatemala, to make ends meet. He was also on the path to becoming a naturalized citizen of the United States.
But things changed in the summer of 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Domingo went missing.
According to reports from the Hamilton County Sherriff Office (HCSO), Domingo was last seen by his uncle on Sunday, May 31, 2020, at approximately 12:30 p.m. The family had left Domingo alone at his residence on Oak Street. A short time later, the family returned home. However, Domingo was nowhere to be found. He did not leave information or contact anyone regarding where he may have been going. He was reported missing the next day.
When HCSO reached out to Verizon requesting location pings to Domingo’s cell phone, Verizon informed the HCSO that his phone had not been active since May 31, 2020, the day he went missing. Due to the amount of time that Domingo went missing, Sheriff Harrell Reid requested other agencies to search for Sergio. Then on June 4, 2020, a passerby located Sergio’s body.
In an advanced stage of decomposition, his body was found floating against some logs in the Alapaha River near US 41 in Hamilton County. He was still wearing the blue shorts his uncle stated he was wearing when he went missing. He was also wearing a pair of socks. An autopsy was performed in Jacksonville by Dr. Peter Gillespie the next day. There had been a postmortem injury to his face and marine life predation on and near his right ear. There was also an injury to his right arm, but due to the decomposition of the body, the medical examiner was unable to determine if the injury had been due to postmortem activity or not. Ultimately, Dr. Gillespie determined that Domingo had died due to accidental drowning.
One of the last people to hear from Domingo was a friend, who stated that Domingo had sent a text message around 11:30 a.m. to see if he was going to the river that day. The friend could not break away, but recalled how unusual it was for Domingo not to be working on a Sunday. Other friends said they had last heard from Domingo between Friday and Saturday before he went missing. Though the death was determined to be an accident, the situation has not set well with other locals, including Marrero. “I am suspicious of his death because there are several unanswered questions,” Marrero stated, “I do not know if he was murdered, but there are suspicious circumstances surrounding it.”
The HCSO has also been seeking help from the public to determine why Domingo had been at the river that day and if anyone saw what happened to him before his death. Some believe there may be more to Domingo’s death, as his wallet and phone were never recovered. It is also believed that Domingo may have gotten a ride with someone to the river that day, as the river was not within a suitable walking distance from his location. Though the case is considered closed, investigators still want to know why Domingo drowned in the Alapaha River and who may have witnessed this happen.
If you have any information pertaining to Domingo’s death, you are asked to contact the HCSO at (386) 792-1001.