Misty Upham's Family Believes Actress Slipped and Fell After Hiding From Police

In a Facebook post, her relatives detail their disappointment with the Auburn police department for what happened to the 32-year-old, best known for roles in August: Osage County and Frozen River.

By Hilary Lewis

The family of Misty Upham, the missing August: Osage County actress found dead on Thursday, has provided more details about the 32-year-old’s death.

In a Friday Facebook post entitled “Official Upham Family Press Release,” Upham’s family members insist that she did not commit suicide, calling her death “accidental.”

See more Meryl Streep and Melissa Leo Express Grief over Misty Upham

"We believe she ran into the wooded area behind her apartment to hide from the police. The area in question has a hidden drop off and evidence suggests that she slipped and fell off of the steep embankment when she tried to get out of a view from the road. She simply did not see the drop off. We searched near that area that evening she disappeared and missed seeing her purse by 25 feet," the post signed by her father Charles and others reads.

Upham was first reported missing on Oct. 6. Her body was found in a Seattle, Wash. ravine on Thursday afternoon with her father confirming to authorities that the deceased was his daughter. After she disappeared, Upham’s father told The Hollywood Reporter that his daughter suffered from bipolar disorder and was off her medication, leading him to believe that she might have been suicidal. But he has insisted since Thursday that he doesn’t believe his daughter took her own life.

Friday’s Facebook post details how Misty was “afraid” of the Auburn, Wash. police department after they teased her when they picked her up for an involuntary transport to the ER, mocking her after she said she was an actress.

See more Hollywood’s Notable Deaths of 2014 

"After Misty arrived at the ER we went to see her and she has a swollen jaw, black eye and scratches and bruises on her shoulder. I asked the ER staff what happened and they said Misty was brought in like that. Misty said she couldn’t remember what happened but thats why she feared the police," the post reads.

Upham disappeared the day the Auburn Police Department was called to do another involuntary transport, her family writes.

Upham’s family members continued to lash out at the Auburn Police Department for what happened to Misty, explaining that the day she disappeared, officers wouldn’t let them look for her outside.

"We believe that if we were not otherwise occupied we may have found Misty before she got hurt," her family writes in its Facebook post Friday.

After detailing the tragic events connected with her death, Upham’s family writes, “But the real tragedy is this could have been prevented on a lot of levels.”

See more 12 of Hollywood’s Most Mysterious Deaths

Upham’s family expressed their disappointment with the Auburn police for not classifying Misty as an endangered missing person, claiming that Auburn Police Department Commander Steve Stocker ”had animosity against Misty due to a previous encounter. Why else would he refuse to allow common sense to prevail? Imagine a 32 year old woman with mental illness, without her medication, imagine she left in an unstable mental state, imagine for the first time in 32 years she lost contact with everyone for 11 days. Now imagine she is Commander Stocker’s daughter. Do you think this case would have been handled differently?”

Upham’s family members also honor their daughter, writing, “Misty loved life, she had ambition, vision and a desire to make a difference in the world she lived in. She tried to use her celebrity status to influence positive change and she became a living example of that endeavor.”

Upham’s family promised to inform loved ones about funeral arrangements once the medical examiner concludes his investigation into her death. The King County Coroner’s Office was expected to address the media about the case on Friday.

Upham’s family also offered people a way to donate to the Misty Upham Memorial Fund.

Photo credit: Andreas Branch/PatrickMcMullan.com/Sipa USA/AP Images