Overview

• After a local fisherman reported a sonar anomaly on Sunday, the Stearns-Benton Sheriff’s Office dive team located a submerged circa-1960s vehicle near Riverside Avenue on Wednesday morning.
• The sedan, filled with river sediment but structurally intact, was raised Wednesday evening with assistance from Collins Brothers Towing as authorities closed Riverside Avenue and a nearby bike path.
• Sartell Police announced early Thursday that human remains were recovered from the car and sent to the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office for identification and cause-of-death analysis.
• Investigators from Benton County and neighboring agencies are examining whether the car and remains are linked to the 1967 disappearance of Roy Benn.
• Authorities are preserving the vehicle and its contents as forensic experts prepare to use DNA and dental records to determine identity and clarify the decades-old case.