Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch

Avila also says that past residents at the ranch have said that there has never been any abuse at the facility.

DES substantiated 13 cases of abuse at the Boys Ranch in 1994. The ranch has challenged those findings in court; the case is still pending. The Boys Ranch has also filed a libel suit against the Arizona Republic for an article it published about the ranch in 1994.

"Frankly, we feel uncomfortable in our present situation, since we have litigation against these powerful institutions who are entrusted to write about and evaluate our program in the coming weeks," Thomas wrote.

In his statement, Thomas asked for patience until the investigation is complete. "Yes, there will be controversy in the coming weeks," he wrote. "I can only hope that you will bear with us until the facts are out."

The answers cannot come too soon for Contreraz's family. "If he died from a cardiac arrest, things like that happen," Joe Contreraz says. "We just want to know what happened. . . . He was a good, strong, healthy boy. What happened in two months?