Friends and family who gathered in prayer and memory await answers about Michael Jaramillo\u2019s death.<\/b>
\nCEDAR RAPIDS \u2014 Into the clear, blue Tuesday afternoon sky floated three dozen orange and white balloons. They were released by friends and family to honor the birthday of Michael Jaramillo of Marion. It was a birthday at which the guest of honor was absent. He drowned July 3 on the Raging River raft ride at Adventureland Park in Altoona when a raft in which he and his family were riding overturned, trapping him underneath. \u201cToday he would have been 12 years old,\u201d father David Jaramillo told the crowd gathered in front of the Christian Life Church in Cedar Rapids. \u201cWe\u2019re very appreciative of the family we have here, that we found in Iowa.\u201d More: Michael Jaramillo funeral: Boy killed on Adventureland ride remembered for joy he brought others That family \u2014 made up of friends and members of the two churches the Jaramillos attend \u2014 spoke of Michael and joined in prayer. Over 90 days after the accident much remains unknown about the events that led to Michael\u2019s death and left his older brother, who also was trapped beneath the overturned raft, hospitalized for a month. The state continues to conduct an investigation and so far has not shared what, if any, conclusions it has drawn. \u201cThe Jaramillo family is requesting prayers as they go through this season of first holidays and birthdays without Michael,\u201d said Ryan Best, the family\u2019s attorney. \u201cThe Jaramillo family would ask that the state of Iowa Labor Division conclude its investigation and release its findings in regard to Michael\u2019s death.\u201d Officials did not provide detailed information about a timeline, but said their investigation is drawing to a conclusion. \u201cWe\u2019re hoping to be done in the near future,\u201d said agency attorney Kathleen Uehling. More: State report: Adventureland raft had been repaired on day of deadly accident, but took on water when family boarded The simulated river rapids ride had been inspected and approved by an agency ride inspector July 2, just one day before the accident. The agency ordered the ride shut down during its investigation, and the park has since closed for the season. In September, a Des Moines Register investigation into river raft rides worldwide found that: Representatives of Adventureland have consistently defended the 37-year-old ride\u2019s safety record and said they are dedicated to finding out what happened. Michael\u2019s older brother,16-year-old David, appears recovered from the ordeal, which for a time left him in a coma. He\u2019s a high school junior, beginning to think about what life may hold. More: Officials faced confusion, a chained gate during Adventureland fatal accident response, records and recordings show He\u2019s considering a career in medicine, like the professionals whose efforts led to his unexpected recovery. But for one of Michael\u2019s classmates, Beckett McDonald, life has become harder without his constant lunchtime and recess companion. Holding back emotion, the 11-year-old Beckett said he thinks about Michael every day \u201ca lot at school and just during the day.\u201d Daniel Lathrop is a staff writer on the Register’s investigative team. Reach him at (319) 244-8873 or dlathrop@dmreg.com. Follow him at @lathropd on Twitter and facebook.com\/lathropod.<\/p>\n