Missing Sartell man's remains found in submerged car, authorities confirm
Authorities say the remains found in a vehicle that was recovered from the Mississippi River last month in Sartell, Minnesota, have now been identified.
The Benton County Sheriff's Office says the remains have been identified as Roy Benn, who was reported missing nearly six decades ago.
Benn, of Sauk Rapids, Minnesota, was 59 when he disappeared, and it took almost that same amount of time to find him. He had last been seen around 4 a.m. in Sartell on Sept. 25, 1967, driving a blue 1963 Buick Electra.
Investigators worked for several years after Benn disappeared to find him, conducting various interviews and searches, but were never successful. Fifty-seven years later, they are closer than ever to an answer.
The discovery comes after someone fishing on the river spotted what looked like a car on their sonar. A dive team searched the area and found a car about 20 feet deep in the river a few days later, on Aug. 13, according to the Stearns County Sheriff's Office.
Brody Loch, a fisherman from Watkins, Minnesota, who found the car, said, "It was 100% luck."
A tow company was brought in to remove the car, which was the Sartell Police Department said was "intact but severely deteriorated, had been underwater for decades and was filled with river sediment."
Shortly after finding the vehicle, authorities were able to use the VIN to confirm it belonged to Benn.
The Midwest Medical Examiner's Office is still working to determine Benn's cause and manner of death.
Benn was declared dead in 1975.
Note: The video above originally aired on Aug. 14, 2025.