The body of a Missouri veteran who had been missing for a decade was found Sunday thanks to the help of a dedicated YouTuber.
Investigators believe the body – as well as the artificial hip – belongs to Donnie Erwin, a man who went missing on Dec. 29, 2013 in Camdenton, a town located in the Ozarks.
Erwin was last seen driving a 2002 Hyundai Elantra almost 10 years ago to the day.
A similar car was pulled from an area lake earlier this month after YouTuber and drone pilot James Hinkle spotted it during his hunt for the missing man, a nearly year-long journey he chronicled on his popular channel “Echo Divers.”
Hinkle – who has more than one million subscribers – found the vehicle on Dec. 14 while using freshwater mapping technology.
Scuba divers from the video blogging team dove into the water to take a closer look at the algae-covered car to confirm it was the last car Erwin was seen driving almost exactly a decade earlier.
Investigators believe the body is that of Donnie Erwin, who went missing on Dec. 29, 2013 in Camdenton. Facebook / SEARCH DONNIE ERWIN
“It is confirmed. That’s the vehicle,” one team member sadly stated in a recent video.
Detectives from the Camden County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that the license plate matched Erwin’s, but it took another week for cadaver dogs to locate human remains.
Investigators also found a prosthetic hip consistent with Erwin’s.
Donnie Erwin was last seen in a 2002 Hyundai Elantra — pictured here — nearly 10 years ago. Camden County MO Sheriff’s Office detectives confirmed that the license plate matches the plate belonging to Donnie Erwin in Camdenton. Facebook / SEARCH DONNIE ERWIN
Although forensic pathologists have yet to determine whether the body is Erwin’s, investigators “are confident the hip and the body are his,” the sheriff’s office said.
“Wow Brother. What a special Christmas this will be. Even if you are not with us, we know where you are now and we can be happy for it. I love you brother and I miss you so much, but I know God’s will brought you to us and I know you are no longer in pain,” Erwin’s sister, Yvonne Erwin-Bowen, wrote on Facebook following the news.
Detectives are still trying to uncover how Erwin ended up in the water when he went on an early morning cigarette run 10 years earlier.
A 2002 Hyundai Elantra was pulled from a lake after YouTuber James Hinkle spotted it during his own missing man hunt. Camden County MO Sheriff’s Office
While the usual theory is that Erwin committed suicide, Hinkle also hypothesized that the Army veteran’s death may have been a pure accident.
“At that time, he was about to leave his house and it was still dark. One of the other things Donnie didn’t bring with him was his glasses,” Hinkle said in the July video.
“It’s dark, he can’t see either — could it be an accident? Could it be that simple?”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
