Emmitt "Owen" Riley was a bright but troubled 20-year-old whose death in the chilly Petaluma River has left his mother grappling with a puzzling series of what-ifs.
What if Petaluma police had arrested him last Tuesday night when they detected alcohol on his breath? Would he be alive today?
What if an all-out search had been launched earlier for the film buff and theater usher?
What if he could have gotten a better handle on his drinking or curtailed his interest in street kids?
Above all, Linda Siniard of Petaluma wants to know about a mysterious phone call placed to her from her son's cell phone the morning after he disappeared. The one in which the caller uttered not a sound. Was her son in trouble, unable to speak? Or was it someone who had robbed and possibly harmed him?
"He couldn't talk," Siniard said. "My belief is he was still alive and calling for help."
Riley's body was pulled from the Petaluma Turning Basin on Saturday and the Sonoma County Coroner's Office believes he may have drowned. Police say they have no evidence of foul play, but neither do they have Riley's bicycle, backpack or cell phone.
It was unknown exactly where he entered the water.
"We sympathize with the family," Petluma Police Capt. Dan Fish said. "It's an awful thing. We'd like to know what happened, and we will be working toward finding out."
Owen Riley lived with his mother and stepfather on the west side of Petaluma where he had been working at Boulevard Cinemas since January or February, his mother said.
He grew up in Sonoma County and was mostly home schooled before his family moved to San Diego, where he enrolled in junior college at 16, she said.
Several years ago, the family moved to Bellingham, Wash., where Riley was diagnosed with seasonal affective disorder, which causes depression. He began drinking and using marijuana, Siniard said, and at one point was charged with driving under the influence.
The family returned last year to Sonoma County and Riley's depression cleared, she said. He still drank but not as often, although in 2006 he was cited for being in possession of two cans of beer, she said.
Last year, he lived with an older brother in Santa Rosa, where he worked at two movie theaters. Earlier this year, he moved back with his mother in Petaluma.
Riley was planning to enroll at San Francisco Academy of Art to study film and TV, his mother said.
"He was a 4.0 student," Siniard said.
At the same time, Riley was drawn to life on the streets, she said. He played hackysack and befriended several young people who were either runaways or had trouble with the law, she acknowledged.
Riley had agreed to check in with his mother frequently, often calling her on his 10-minute work breaks. He always came home after work, sometimes bringing along friends, Siniard said.
So when he didn't return Tuesday night, Siniard said she knew something bad had happened. The next morning, at about 9:45, Siniard said she got a call from someone using her son's cell phone, but no one spoke.
Then she called police and fire agencies for help in searching for him and got what she describes as a lukewarm response. She and her husband combed parts of the city and downtown, posting fliers that described their 6-foot-5 son, who rode an orange bicycle and carried a backpack.
On Friday, Siniard rented a plane to fly over the area, hoping somehow to spot him. On Saturday, she contacted county search and rescue officials, who began to mobilize for a hunt.
It was called off when his body was found in the river between North Water Street and Lakeville Street. Police said they identified him by the possessions found on his body. His mother said he carried a Washington state driver's license.
Siniard criticized police for not acting sooner to locate her son. She also said officers missed a chance to prevent his death when they encountered him downtown late Tuesday night. Officers had warned Riley not to ride his bicycle on the sidewalk and noticed his breath smelled of alcohol.
"I think the police have made a number of mistakes here," Siniard said.
But Fish said officers had done their best despite having little to go on. After Riley was reported missing Wednesday, officers immediately began talking to people downtown where he was known to hang out and dispatched officers to homeless encampments on the river, where his parents said he may have gone, Fish said.
The young man apparently had been drinking when he was stopped by police Tuesday night, but he was not considered intoxicated, so he was instructed to walk home, which he agreed to do, Fish said.
So far, Fish said there is nothing to indicate a crime had been committed. An autopsy conducted Monday pointed to drowning as a possible cause of death, Sonoma County Coroner's Sgt. Mitch Mana said, and the body showed no signs of trauma.
Results from a toxicology report will not be available for weeks, he said.
Meanwhile, friends at the Petaluma movie theater expressed shock at Riley's death.
Shelby Blanchard, 18, said she was hysterical upon learning "one of the most loved people you could know" was found floating in the river.
But she said Riley was known to drink and probably fell off a dock. She doubted there was foul play.
"That's just Owen," Blanchard said. "He always was drinking."
Staff Writer Randi Rossman contributed to this report. You can reach Staff Writer Paul Payne at 762-7297 or paul.payne@pressdemocrat.com.