Mother seeks answers for son found dead in the waters near Stinson Beach last month

STINSON BEACH, Calif. (KTVU) - Tyler Silva was last seen on top of the cliffs high above Muir Beach in Marin County on Dec. 3. Then he disappeared. 

It wasn’t until a little over a week later that kayakers found his body in the waters near Stinson Beach, about two miles away.

“The top of the cliff, the drop to his death -- 600 feet below,” says Silva’s mother, Heather Lundbom. “Which is the height of the [Seattle] Space Needle.”

While authorities believe Silva, 21, fell from the cliff, the circumstances leading up to that fall remain a mystery. His mother wants answers.

“I think anything's possible,” she said. “I don't know what happened to my son. I was not there. But somebody else may have been. Somebody else may know something more than the second-hand information I've been given."

On the day he went missing, Silva drove to Muir Beach in a rented Dodge Charger or Challenger. He was with a woman, whose identity hasn't been made public.

"They at some point became separated, and there was no other information provided,” Lundbom said.

Silva was athletic and loved the outdoors. That's why his mother is perplexed as to why he may have fallen while on a hike. 

National Park rangers declined to discuss the case on Friday. A Marin County coroner’s official told KTVU the cause and manner of Silva's death are unknown, pending toxicology tests.

Family and friends are asking the public to see if they remember seeing Silva or his tattoos. They're desperate for anything to help piece the puzzle together.

“It's very difficult to watch a family, my close friend, not having answers,” said family friend Michelle Conners. “So our hope is that somebody sees this and realizes, ‘We were there, let's look through our photos.’” 

And for Lundbom, it's the spotty details that leave her in an uncomfortable wonder. “I would just like to have information, because waking up every day as his mom and his family, our friends -  the unknown is very painful."

Anyone with information about Silva is asked to contact the National Park Service, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, at (415) 561-4700.