JASPER, Texas, Feb. 6 (UPI) -- The U.S. Justice Department is investigating the death of a Texas man whose family is challenging an official finding the cause of death was drug intoxication.
Alfred Wright, a physical therapist, was 28 when he disappeared Nov. 7, 2013, near his Jasper, Texas, home. He was en route to an appointment with a patient when he experienced a problem with his pickup truck and stopped at a store to call family members for help.
Some of his belongings -- including his ID and watch -- were found the next day not far from the store. Law enforcement personnel searched the area but reported finding no sign of Wright, a married father of two.
Wright's family found his body 19 days later in an area police had said they searched, CNN reported.
Wright was wearing boxer shorts, sneakers and one sock, with his cellphone tucked into it. His throat appeared to have been cut, and he was missing one ear, his tongue and two teeth.
The family said police told them "there was no foul play" and his death probably drug-related.
A coroner's toxicology report said there were drugs including cocaine, methamphetamine in Wright's body and concluded his death was accidental due to a "combined drug intoxication." The medical examiner said the missing body parts were attributable to "animal and insect activity."
A pathologist hired by the family concluded there had been "severe trauma to the neck and head."
U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee announced the Justice Department's involvement in the investigation at a news conference in Monday.
