Thomas Simpkins was a 44‑year‑old dad and longtime Santa Clara resident. He was reported missing shortly after attending a Super Bowl Sunday barbecue near his home and was later found dead in San Tomas Aquino Creek. Detectives and loved ones have been struggling to piece together what happened in the days before his body was recovered on February 14.
Simpkins was last seen alive on the evening of February 8 around 9:30 p.m. near Pruneridge Avenue and Lawrence Expressway after leaving a friend’s barbecue party. Family members said he had taken an Uber home that night and texted with them, but after that, he disappeared. He was reported missing when he failed to show up for work the next day.
Six days later, at about 2:30 p.m., Santa Clara officers were called to San Tomas Aquino Creek where a body was seen face‑down in the water. It was later identified as Simpkins. Detectives have confirmed that his cell phone and wallet were missing when his body was discovered.
Police say they still have no official cause or manner of death. The Santa Clara County medical examiner’s office has yet to release final findings pending further investigation. Authorities are treating the case as active and hope the public can help fill in the missing timeline between the night Simpkins vanished and the day his body was found.
Simpkins’ family has been vocal about gaps in the timeline and wants more answers. His sister described the shock of learning that a body had been found only after a stranger sent her police scanner audio on social media. The family has pushed for surveillance footage and witness accounts to be checked from the area around Homestead Road and Los Olivos Drive, where Simpkins was last seen in the early hours of February 9.
Friends and relatives remember Simpkins as a hardworking father to his biological son and three stepchildren. He was in the midst of a divorce at the time of his death, and those who knew him say he was deeply involved in his children’s lives. They say the uncertainty around his final days is what weighs on them the most as they await closure.
Santa Clara police continue to ask anyone with information about Simpkins’ movements or sightings in the early morning of February 9 to come forward. Detectives are especially interested in surveillance video or eyewitness accounts that could show where he went after leaving the barbecue
