Charles Upham recently took to Facebook to deny the allegation that his 32-year-old daughter known for her roles in "August: Osage County," "Frozen River" and "Django Unchanged" committed suicide.
"We believe that Misty's death was accidental. She did not commit suicide. We believe she ran into the wooded area behind her apartment to hide from the police," the father wrote in an "Official Upham Family Press Release" posted on Misty Upham's Facebook page.
He explained that "evidence suggests that she slipped and fell off the steep embankment when she tried to get out of view from the road" and "she simply did not see the drop off" referring to the 150-foot ledge in a Seattle suburb where her body was found.
Misty Upham was "afraid of the Auburn PD for good reason" and accidentally died hiding from them, her father claimed.
If the Auburn PD did not refuse to "help offer to find or at least change her missing status to 'Endangered' to allow other agencies to get involved," the actress's death "could have been prevented on a lot of levels," the father added.
With the Upham family's background as Native Americans belonging to the Blackfoot tribe, the actress's mother, Mona Upham, also told Hollywood Life, "I think if Misty was different-looking they would be doing a lot more to help find her."
Auburn Police Commander Steve Stocker, on the other hand, denied the claims that investigators did not take Upham's disappearance seriously.
"We did everything we could in this case," Stocker said.
Meanwhile, the actress's "August: Osage County" co-star Meryl Streep has expressed her condolences to the family.
"So so sad to hear this news. All our thoughts are with her family and with her beautiful spirit," Streep said in a statement released to the Hollywood Reporter.
Melissa Leo, who starred with Upham in "Frozen River," also said, "Such a loss... so sad, so so sad."
Upham's death was confirmed by the King County Medical Examiner's office on Oct. 17, Friday, 11 days after she was reported missing, USA Today reported.