CAMDENTON, Mo. — Investigators discovered human remains over the weekend. They are confident that they belong to Donnie Erwin, who has been missing since 2013. A tip from a YouTuber helped launch a police investigation into a pond containing a submerged vehicle in southern Camden County earlier this month.
“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. 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,” states Sergeant Scott Hines of the Camden County Sheriff’s Office.
Echo Divers YouTube channel owner James Hinkle has been interested in this missing person case for years. He found a submerged vehicle in a small pond on private property in December by using his drone to fly over a portion of Camden County. Hinkle spoke with the property owner and they contacted police on December 16 about the potential discovery.
Deputies and detectives from the Camden County Sheriff’s Office met with Hinkle and the property owner. Divers went into the pond and found that the vehicle’s license plate matched the missing vehicle.
Investigators and search dogs returned to the pond on Saturday, December 23. They were able to find human remains and an artificial hip in the pond. It matches the artificial hip that Erwin had. They immediately contacted Erwin’s family about the new developments in the case.
A forensic pathologist will examine the remains to determine if they are a match. Police say that they believe that the human remains belong to Erwin.
