Authorities in Minnesota have confirmed the cause of death of a 59-year-old man who vanished in 1967, after his remains were discovered inside a car pulled from the Mississippi River last August.
According to a report from the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office shared by Anoka County on Dec. 1, Roy Benn died as a result of an apparent single-vehicle crash followed by water submersion. The manner of death was ruled an accident.
Benn, who lived in Sauk Rapids, Minn., was last seen around 4 a.m. on Sept. 25, 1967, at a café in Sartell. He was reported missing later that month, according to the Benton County Sheriff’s Office.
In the years following his disappearance, investigators conducted interviews, searches, and other investigative efforts, but none led to answers. Authorities said the sheriff’s office continued to follow up on leads for decades in hopes of locating Benn.
At the time he went missing, Benn owned an apartment building and an appliance service business in nearby St. Cloud. He was described as financially stable and known to carry large amounts of cash, with authorities believing he may have had thousands of dollars on him when he disappeared, according to KNSI. Eight years after he went missing, Benn was declared legally dead. His family maintained that he was content with his life and would not have voluntarily abandoned them.
A major development occurred on Aug. 10 of last year, when boaters on the Mississippi River noticed an unusual shape on their electronics that appeared to be a submerged vehicle. Authorities responded to the location and confirmed the find.
Fisherman Brody Loch, who helped locate the vehicle, later told CBS affiliate WCCO that the discovery came down to chance, saying that if a friend had not caught a fish at that spot, they would have floated past without noticing anything.
Three days later, the Stearns-Benton County Sheriff’s Office Dive Team recovered a 1963 Buick Electra from the river. Investigators confirmed the car was registered to Benn and said several personal items were found with the human remains inside the vehicle. The remains were sent to the medical examiner’s office for identification.
Jeff Benn, the victim’s great-nephew, told NBC affiliate KARE in August that the family believed the incident was a tragic accident. He said Benn likely ran off the road and into the river, with no one realizing what had happened for nearly six decades.
The Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed on Sept. 4 that the skeletonized remains recovered from the vehicle belonged to Benn. In a Nov. 12 news release, the sheriff’s office stated that no foul play is suspected and that the case has been officially closed.
The Benton County Sheriff’s Office also expressed gratitude to the agencies involved in resolving the decades-old mystery, including the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Stearns County Sheriff’s Office, Sartell Police Department, Sartell Fire Department, and the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office.
