Just a year after the brutal murder of a young Lee County man, the family of Kyle Byrtus is tapping into social media resources to help rally support to increase the reward for information leading to the arrest of Byrtus’ killer.

His family recently launched a donation fund on Gofundme, an Internet site where friends, family and even strangers can donate to help increase the reward amount that would be given by Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers.

Currently, Crime Stoppers would provide a $1,000 reward for anonymous information leading to the arrest in Byrtus’ murder.

His family has set a personal goal of $4,000 – ultimately hoping for a $5,000 reward for the key pieces of information they have waited more than a year for.

Gofundme is a personal online funding source where individuals can donate to various causes of their choice.

Since its launch, at least eight people have donated $325 toward the “Justice for Kyle Byrtus” reward fund, and family members are hopeful that once they are able to share this information with those who knew and cared about Byrtus, that they will be able to quickly reach their goal.

“It’s been a difficult year for the Byrtus family, and to this day they still struggle with trying to cope with this senseless act of violence,” Trish Routte, Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers coordinator, said. “The Gofundme tool is an innovative way for the family to help generate support and funding to increase the reward for information leading to the arrest of Kyle’s killer. For the family’s sake, we are hopeful that this endeavor is successful, and that the lure of an increased reward will encourage someone in the know to do the right thing and come forward with information they have on Kyle’s murder.”

Byrtus’ body was found in a field on Meadow Drive on Aug. 15, 2013. Although he did not live in Lehigh, Byrtus was known to spend time, and had connections to, the Pine Manor area.

The 25-year-old was a graduate of Fort Myers High School, where he was captain of the track team. After graduation, he went to college and had his sights set on a business career.

Those plans were thwarted, however, after a few bad choices involving narcotics. It is believed that his senseless murder may have had some connections to his involvement with narcotics.

The “Help Us Find Justice for Kyle” page is currently operational on the Gofundme website at: www.gofundme.com/kylebyrtus.

Anyone with information on the murder is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 780-TIPS (8477). All callers will remain anonymous and will be eligible for a cash reward of up to $1,000.

Tips may also be made at: www.swflcrimestoppers.org or by texting a tip to CRIMES (274637) Keyword: REWARD.

Information leading to an arrest will also be eligible for funds raised through the Gofundme account.

Source: Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers