Authorities reopened an April 2000 cold case involving two missing Tennessee teenagers after a YouTube diver discovered a car belonging to one of the teens underwater in November.
Erin Foster, 18, and Jeremy Bechtel, 17 were last seen on April 3, 2000, after leaving Foster’s home, the White County Sheriff Steve Page said in a news release. For years, there had been no new evidence in their case.
YouTuber Jeremy Beau Sides, who creates videos where he uses sonar technology and dives underwater to track down evidence in missing persons cases, shot a video on Nov. 24 showing his discovery of a 1998 Pontiac Grand Am that belonged to Foster.
Page said Foster’s family contacted him about the video and he quickly reached out to Sides.
The car was found and later pulled from the Calfkiller River in Tennessee, about 90 miles east of Nashville.
Police confirmed the vehicle belonged to Foster, according to the news release.
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Investigators told WTVF that human remains found in the vehicle will be sent for testing. Both Foster and Bechtel’s families were notified of the new evidence.
The details of how the car ended up in the river are still unknown, according to the news release.
“I’m lost for words. I’m so glad I could find them. I’m so sad that that’s where they ended up. I can’t believe – it’s been over 20 years that they’ve been sitting there waiting for someone to find them,” Sides said in his YouTube video.
Follow Gabriela Miranda on Twitter: @itsgabbymiranda
