Greeley,CO : Eaton woman who died in Saturday morning crash on June, Saturday 24th 2017

Natasha Reinert's Eaton house was full of pictures of her siblings.

She had a picture of her parents, and she had a picture of her dog, a black lab named Baby. But it was really her two brothers, Nate Reinert, 25, and Austin Reynolds, 18, and her sister, Danele Reynolds, 10, who she kept photos of.

Her mother, Michele Reynolds, said she found that out after she visited the house in the wake of her 24-year-old daughter's death.

Early Saturday morning, Reinert's 2002 Toyota sedan veered into Woods Lake near Weld County roads 74 and 29, just east of Severance. She was pronounced dead on the scene.

Colorado State Patrol troopers received the call just before 6:30 a.m., but they estimated the car could have been in the lake for hours, meaning the crash could have happened as early as midnight. Authorities don't know why the vehicle ended up in the lake. She was driving to visit a friend, Reynolds said.

Reinert had a lot of friends.

"She loved all people, no matter what age or their skin color or background," her mother said. "She was the most giving person."

Reinert spent her childhood in Greeley with her mother and attended Frontier Academy. She grew up in church though, Reynolds said, she stepped away from religion for a time.

Her mother remembers her as a happy person, but that's not to say her life was without challenge. In May 2015, Reinert overcame an addiction. Her mother didn't want to publicly disclose the details, but she said her daughter dealt with it from her teenage years and it followed her into early adulthood. She came to that decision on her own, Reynolds said, and she lived by that new choice until her death.

Reynolds said she feels her daughter's recovery can be a point of inspiration for others.

"It's possible for anyone," she said.

Reinert also rediscovered her faith. About two weeks before the crash, her mother said, she dedicated herself to Christ once again. It was a decision her mom didn't know about until after she died, but it's one for which she is thankful.

With her mother in Greeley and her father in Pierce, Reinert chose Eaton as a middle ground. About a year and a half ago, her mother said, she started working at Huskies Dog House Restaurant and Bar in Pierce.

"They loved her there," she said, a sentiment echoed by Allen Buckmeyer, her boss and close friend.

Buckmeyer recommended Reinert for a job at Steven's Grill in Eaton, and that's where she met Steve Schlotthauer, the restaurant's owner. He only knew her for a few months, while she worked at his restaurant but his voice still softened when he talked about her. Even those few months were long enough for him to realize she was a good person.

"She was just starting to get all this down," he said, gesturing around the interior of the bar and diner. "She was honest, nice."

In the wake of her daughter's death, Reynolds said she wanted a symbol for her daughter, something for people to remember her by. Reinert's favorite color was orange, so in an early Sunday morning Facebook appeal, her mother asked friends and family to post an orange butterfly to show support. Within days, a flock of them had filled the social media site.

"May your soul be free to fly, my sweet princess," Reynolds wrote in the same post.

That phrase — "being free" — was something Reynolds thought about after Reinert died. Her daughter's favorite Bible verse was from Romans, she said, and it reads: "Forgive me my offenses and set me free."

"She said that a lot," Reynolds said. "She just wanted to be set free."


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Mother remembers Eaton woman who died in Saturday morning crash