Remains found in Missouri pond could belong to man who disappeared nearly 10 years ago

Andrea Klick
·2 min read
The Hyandai Elantra of Donald Erwin, missing since 2013, has been discovered a decade later, Missouri cops say.

Camden County authorities found human remains they believe belong to a man missing for a decade, after a YouTuber told the sheriff’s office he located the Camdenton man’s vehicle in a pond.

Detectives from the Camden County Sheriff’s Office and cadaver dogs had been searching the pond on private property since Dec. 16, when Donnie Erwin’s Hyundai Elantra was found submerged.

Divers recovered human remains near the center of the pond Sunday morning, where cadaver dogs had pointed them the day before. They also recovered an artificial hip that matched one Erwin had.

Investigators said they’re confident the remains and artificial hip found belong to Erwin, but will need to wait for confirmation from a forensic pathologist.

“All of us at the Camden County Sheriff’s Office who have investigated this case for ten years are elated at the recovery and overjoyed with the closure we know this brings to the family,” the sheriff’s office wrote in a news release.

“This development would not have been possible without the assistance of countless volunteers throughout the years. From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you all.”

The sheriff’s office received a tip which led to the “major break” in the case on Dec. 16 from James Hinkle, a Camden County resident and videographer who runs the Echo Divers YouTube channel. Hinkle had been investigating the case and documenting his findings on the channel.

While flying his drone, Hinkle said he believed he saw a vehicle submerged in a small pond on a private property, according to the sheriff’s office.

Hinkle told the sheriff’s office he talked with the property owner and got permission to search the area on foot and by kayak. He found a light-colored car submerged in the pond.

Deputies and detectives from the sheriff’s office and members of the Mid-County Fire Protection District dive team searched the pond, found a vehicle with a license plate number that matched Erwin’s car and recovered it.

Erwin was last seen Dec. 29, 2013, when he left his home in the 2002 Hyundai. Loved ones told authorities he vanished “without a trace.”