For years following his tragic death, questions have surrounded what exactly happened to Michael Cavallari, brother of former reality TV star Kristin Cavallari.
Now, his sister is seeking answers surrounding her brother's mysterious death in an unconventional way.
Michael Cavallari's body was found in December 2015 at the bottom of a steep hillside in a rocky and rural part of southern Utah.
The 30-year-old had been missing for weeks after his car was found abandoned with the engine running, radio blaring and air bag deployed about 200 miles south of Salt Lake City. Clothes filled the back seat and $18,000 in cash was found inside a golf bag in the trunk, documents showed.
Family members had known Michael Cavallari suffered from mental health problems, his mother telling investigators her son had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and had become paranoid.
Before his death, Michael Cavallari told family that gang members in Los Angeles were after him because of the girl he was dating. His father said his son might have fled California because of the perceived threat.
Cavallari was last seen on security-camera footage at a convenience store in Monticello, Utah, on Nov. 27, 2015 — hours before a rancher found his abandoned car near a dirt road.
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Investigators reached the conclusion that Cavallari may have left the warmth and safety of his car that cold night because of his "paranoid state" and belief that "he was being followed by unknown persons with harmful intent."
His death was ruled accidental by a Utah state medical examiner who said an autopsy found he died from hypothermia, authorities said.
But still, family members have continued to struggle with his death as few certainties surrounded what exactly happened.
Kristin Cavallari, a reality star-turned-fashion designer who is married to former Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler, appeared on the season three premiere of “Hollywood Medium With Tyler Henry” Wednesday, a television show in which the young “clairvoyant medium” works with some of the country’s biggest stars.
In the episode, she asks Henry if it “[Michael] got lost out there and couldn’t find his way back to his car and his phone?”
“He's having me acknowledge looking for a river, looking for a river," Henry said. “There's this feeling of just not getting the chance to obviously do this to an area of population."
Henry added that there was “no doubt in my mind based on all the details and validations that have come through today that [Michael] didn’t intend to end his life.”
While official details still remain unclear, Cavallari said the reading helped her and her family find closure.
"That was really hard to hear because the thought of him being out in the middle of nowhere just kills me, just kills me,” Cavallari said in a post-reading interview. “And I think deep down I knew that, but I'm happy that I know. That's how I can then accept it and move on from it and come to terms with it. I would rather know than not know.”
