A YouTuber helped locate the remains believed to belong to a Missouri veteran who went missing a decade ago.
Donnie Erwin vanished on Dec. 29, 2013, in Camdenton, located in the Ozarks, according to the New York Post. He was last seen driving a 2002 Hyundai Elantra — a vehicle that YouTuber and drone pilot James Hinkle discovered in an area lake during his own hunt for the missing man.
The Post noted that Hinkle has been chronicling his nearly year-long journey on his popular YouTube channel "Echo Divers." It was during his search while using freshwater mapping technology that he found the vehicle on Dec. 14.
Scuba divers from his team were able to closely examine the car and confirm it was the one that Erwin was last seen driving.
Camden County Sheriff's Office detectives verified that the license plates matched Erwin's vehicle, but it took an additional week for cadaver dogs to discover human remains. Investigators were also able to recover an artificial hip believed to be consistent with Erwin's.
A forensic pathologist has yet to determine whether the remains are those of Erwin. Investigators however said they are "confident the hip and remains belong to him," The Post noted.
They are still working to establish how Erwin ended up in the water while he was out getting cigarettes early in the morning.
While a prevalent theory suggests Erwin died by suicide, Hinkle speculated that the death of the Army veteran might have been an accident.
"At that time, he would have left his house and it would still be dark. One of the other things Donnie did not take with him was his glasses," Hinkle said in a July video. "It's dark, he can't see as well — could this have been an accident? Could it be that simple?"
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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