Tom Bearson
SARTELL, Minn. (KFGO) – The family of Tom Bearson, the NDSU student whose 2014 murder is still unsolved, has announced that they will be closing the foundation they started in his name.
In a Facebook post Tuesday morning, the Bearson family thanked the community, Tom Bearson Foundation employees, and others.
“As we close our Foundation, we want to express our deepest gratitude to all of the people who provided so much love and support to our family over the last (almost) nine years…Losing Tom in 2014 was overwhelming and our Foundation helped us find hope, purpose, and happiness as we learned to live our lives again…Tom touched many people in a positive way during his short life and that knowledge has helped our family immensely. Words will never be able to express the deepness of our loss and how much we love and miss him. The goodness in his heart should have earned him a longer life,” the statement read, in part.
“The grieving of Tom won’t end with the closing of our Foundation…we will now be able to focus more on our family and justice for Tom – which we know will come,” it concluded.
Over the years the Bearson foundation has funded a number of scholarships and athletic spirit awards, in addition to supporting the boys and girls basketball teams in Sartell, and other youth basketball teams. The Tom Bearson Memorial Courts and seating area were dedicated at Pinecone Central Park in Sartell, Minn., where Bearson graduated from high school, earlier this month.
September 20 will mark nine years since Bearson was last seen in the early morning hours at a party in Fargo. His body was found three days later in the parking lot of a Moorhead RV dealership. Police said the cause of death was homicidal violence, and an autopsy found that he died of asphyxia.
Moorhead Deputy Police Chief Tory Jacobson said the investigation into Bearson’s death is, “still very much active.”
Jacobson said the department has a team of investigators still working the case in consultation with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and the FBI. He said technique enhancements for processing and evaluating evidence have helped keep the case alive, and that search warrants are still being executed in relation to it.
“We are still optimistic that one day we will find the piece of information that will lead us to the answers we are all looking for,” Jacobson said.
He said the file for Bearson’s case is a “very extensive” one and that law enforcement is still in touch with the Bearson family.
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