YouTuber leads authorities to human remains believed to be of man missing since 2013

CNN/Stylemagazine.com Newswire | 12/26/2023, 6:56 p.m.
Human remains were found Sunday in connection to a 2013 missing person’s case with the help of a YouTuber, according …
A Hyundai belonging to Donnie Erwin was found after a YouTuber went searching for clues related to the man's disappearance 10 years ago. Mandatory Credit: Camden County Sheriff's Office

Originally Published: 26 DEC 23 13:59 ET

By Sarah Engel, CNN

(CNN) — Human remains were found Sunday in connection to a 2013 missing person’s case with the help of a YouTuber, according to the Camden County Sheriff’s Office in Missouri.

In a news release, the sheriff’s office said that James Hinkle, a local videographer who operates the YouTube channel Echo Divers, spotted a submerged vehicle in a private pond while filming with his drone.

Hinkle was searching the area for clues related to the disappearance of Donnie Erwin, who was 59 when he went missing from Camdenton, Missouri, in December 2013.

“When I found out that Donnie was a veteran and lived an hour and a half from my home in Clinton, Missouri, I knew I could help with the search,” Hinkle, who oversees a scuba diving search and rescue team, told CNN via Facebook.

In a December 16 news release, the sheriff’s office said divers confirmed the vehicle’s license plate number matched that of Donnie Erwin’s, but were unable to find any remains.

During the weekend before Christmas, authorities brought in cadaver dogs, who alerted detectives to a specific area of the pond. On Sunday, divers recovered human remains and “an artificial hip consistent with the one Mr. Erwin had,” according to the Camden County Sheriff’s Office.

“While a forensic pathologist will have to examine the remains to determine for certain if they are indeed those of Mr. Erwin, investigators are confident the hip and remains belong to him,” the sheriff’s office said.

According to a missing person’s alert, Erwin was last seen around 9:30 a.m. on December 29, 2013.

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