Joseph Edward Barela Jr. was 22 when he was found with a gunshot wound to the head on May 17, 2021, in the 29000 block of Otero County Road 20, just outside Rocky Ford, Colorado. He was taken to Arkansas Valley Regional Medical Center and later transferred to UC Health Memorial Hospital in Colorado Springs, where he died on May 18, 2021.

The Otero County Sheriff’s Office opened the death investigation as a possible homicide and has asked the public for information. Barela’s family remembered him as a state champion wrestler who enjoyed skateboarding and breakdancing and who loved his family.

If anyone has information about what happened that night or saw activity in the 29000 block of Otero County Road 20 in mid-May 2021, please come forward to assist the investigation.