(KNSI) — The Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office is releasing the cause and manner of death for a man whose body was found earlier this year in the Mississippi River in Sartell.
On August 13th, police recovered the body of 59-year-old Roy Benn from the river after a fisherman found the submerged 1963 Buick Electra near County Road 1. Benn had been reported missing from Benton County in September of 1967.
A press release from Benton County Sheriff Troy Heck says after several weeks of examining Benn’s remains and the evidence available in this 58-year investigation, Benn died “as the result of a single motor vehicle crash with water submersion.” No evidence of foul play was found, and the cause was ruled accidental.
On September 25th, 1967, Benn had just finished eating breakfast at the King’s Inn Supper Club, got into his metallic blue 1963 Buick Electra, and then vanished.
According to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which investigates missing persons cases, Benn was a widower who owned an apartment building and St. Cloud Gas and Appliance Service. According to his family, he was well off with no debts and may have been carrying several thousand dollars at the time he disappeared.
Investigators say no one ever used Benn’s credit cards, wrote any checks on his bank account, or re-licensed his car anywhere. His loved ones said he was happy with his life, and they don’t believe he would have abandoned his family.
The release says the Benton County Sheriff’s Office “would like to thank all the agencies who assisted in the investigation of Benn’s disappearance and recovery of Benn’s vehicle and remains. We are grateful for the partnership of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Stearns County Sheriff’s Office, Sartell Police Department, Sartell Fire Department, and the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office.”
The case will now be closed.
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