Latest news with #BrodyLoch
The Guardian
a day ago
- The Guardian
Minnesota man who found car while fishing probably solved 1967 cold case
A fisher who recently went out on the Mississippi River in Minnesota ended up spotting a submerged car and evidently helped solve a nearly 60-year-old missing person case, according to authorities and local news reporting. Brody Loch, the fisher at the center of the remarkable chain of events, told the Minneapolis news outlet WCCO that he called authorities after discovering the 1960s-era Buick in question with a sonar device on the weekend of 9 August. By Wednesday in the community of Sartell, local sheriff's office divers and a tow truck crew had recovered the vehicle. And investigators processing the car found human remains inside, the office of Steve Soyka, the Stearns county sheriff, said in a statement. Furthermore, Soyka's agency said, through the car's vehicle identification number (VIN), investigators were able to determine the car belonged to Roy Benn, who at age 59 was reported missing to the sheriff's office of nearby Benton county in September 1967 – and had not been seen since. Officials have sent the remains in Benn's car to a medical examiner's office for possible identification. Nonetheless, based on the items in the car and its VIN, Soyka's office said it believed the remains were that of Benn. Soyka's office added that it had turned the case over to the Benton county sheriff's office. Benton county's sheriff, Troy Heck, told CNN that his office had notified Benn's remaining family, who had previously been asked for DNA samples. 'We're just grateful that we may likely have finally gotten the break that we needed to bring closure to this family,' Heck said to the network. A missing persons bulletin published by Minnesota's public safety department said Benn was last seen on 25 September 1967 while 'carrying a large sum of money'. He was also driving his 1963 four-door, metallic blue Buick Electra, said the bulletin, which described the car missing alongside Benn. Benn owned an appliance repair service in St Cloud, Minnesota, when he went missing, according to reports at the time from the local daily newspaper. The St Cloud Daily Times also reported that Benn's wife had died the year before he went missing. Benn's brother, Walter, worked with authorities investigating Roy's disappearance, but leads back then never materialized into something definitive, as CNN reported. Walter Benn moved to sell his missing brother's personal possessions at an auction in 1968, the St Cloud Daily Times reported. Roy Benn was then declared legally dead in 1975, about eight years after he was last seen, the St Cloud Daily Times' reporting showed. After finally being located, Benn's car was 'filled with river sediment' and 'severely deteriorated' from being underwater for decades, yet it was 'intact', Sartell's municipal police department said in a statement. Loch told WCCO that he hoped Benn's family was finally closer to getting meaningful answers about what happened to him. He attributed it to good fortune that he and the friend with whom he was fishing didn't float by Benn's car without detecting it on sonar that fateful day. 'It was 100% luck,' Loch said.
The Guardian
a day ago
- The Guardian
‘100% luck': Minnesota fisherman evidently helps solve man's 1967 disappearance:
A fisherman who recently went out on the Mississippi River in Minnesota ended up spotting a submerged car and evidently helped solve a nearly 60-year-old missing person case, according to authorities and local news reporting. The fisherman at the center of the remarkable chain of events, Brody Loch, told Minneapolis news outlet WCCO that he called authorities after discovering the 1960s-era Buick in question with a sonar device on the weekend of 9 August. By Wednesday in the community of Sartell, local sheriff's office divers and a tow truck crew had recovered the vehicle. And investigators processing the car found human remains inside, the office of Steve Soyka, the Stearns county sheriff, said in a statement. Furthermore, Soyka's agency said, through the car's vehicle identification number (VIN), investigators were able to determine the car belonged to Roy Benn, who at age 59 was reported missing to the sheriff's office of nearby Benton county in September 1967 – and had not been seen since. Officials have sent the remains in Benn's car to a medical examiner's office for possible identification. Nonetheless, based on the items in the car and its VIN, Soyka's office said it believed the remains were that of Benn. Soyka's office added that it had turned the case over to the Benton county sheriff's office. Benton county's sheriff, Troy Heck, told CNN that his office had notified Benn's remaining family, who had previously been asked for DNA samples. 'We're just grateful that we may likely have finally gotten the break that we needed to bring closure to this family,' Heck said to the network. A missing persons bulletin published by Minnesota's public safety department said Benn was last seen on 25 September 1967 while 'carrying a large sum of money'. He was also driving his 1963 four-door, metallic blue Buick Electra, said the bulletin, which described the car missing alongside Benn. Benn owned an appliance repair service in St Cloud, Minnesota, when he went missing, according to reports at the time from the local daily newspaper. The St Cloud Daily Times also reported that Benn's wife had died the year before he went missing. Benn's brother, Walter, worked with authorities investigating Roy's disappearance, but leads back then never materialized into something definitive, as CNN reported. Walter Benn moved to sell his missing brother's personal possessions at an auction in 1968, the St Cloud Daily Times reported. Roy Benn was then declared legally dead in 1975, about eight years after he was last seen, the St Cloud Daily Times' reporting showed. After finally being located, Benn's car was 'filled with river sediment' and 'severely deteriorated' from being underwater for decades, yet it was 'intact', Sartell's municipal police department said in a statement. Loch told WCCO that he hoped Benn's family was finally closer to getting meaningful answers about what happened to him. He attributed it to good fortune that he and the friend with whom he was fishing didn't float by Benn's car without detecting it on sonar that fateful day. 'It was 100% luck,' Loch said.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
A fisherman spotted an old Buick in the Mississippi River. The human remains inside may have solved a decades-old missing person's case
Two Minnesota fishermen may have made an unexpected crack in a decades-old missing persons case. One of the fishermen, Brody Loch, was fishing in the Mississippi River in Sartell, about 75 miles outside Minneapolis, and stumbled upon a 1960s Buick submerged 20 feet underwater. The car was picked up thanks to Loch's sonar after the friend he was fishing with made a catch nearby. He called the police about the suspicious vehicle, and days later, authorities uncovered human remains inside the car. 'It was 100 percent luck,' Loch told WCCO. 'If my buddy wouldn't have caught that walleye, then we would have just kept on floating down and never would have found it.' Authorities processed the vehicle and learned it belonged to Roy Benn, who mysteriously disappeared in 1967 with a large sum of money. On the last night he was seen, Benn dined at the King's Supper Club, north of Sartell and then drove a 1963 metallic blue Buick Electra, according to a missing person bulletin from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. He was 59 at the time, according to St. Cloud Daily Times archives viewed by CNN. The human remains found inside the vehicle are believed to belong to Benn, who was declared legally dead in 1975, eight years after he went missing. "Looking back at some of the original case files, there was talk of quarries, there was talk of the Mississippi river, but of course, technology in the 1960s is nowhere near what we have now," said Sartell Police Chief Brandon Silgjord. 'Tons of credit for a fisherman to actually see that and then have the forethought to call the sheriff's office and make that report,' Silgjord said. 'Artifacts, clothing items, different things like that will absolutely help in piecing this whole thing together,' Silgjord said. Silgjord says investigators have received questions about the cash Benn was carrying when he vanished. "I think perspective needs to be offered sometimes, of what a large amount of cash looked like in 1960 versus now," Silgjord said. "Which very well could have been, from reading some of those original reports, several hundreds of dollars." The Benton County Sheriff's Office is leading the investigation for the case, and the remains found in the Buick have been sent to a medical examiner's office for examination.
The Independent
2 days ago
- The Independent
A fisherman spotted an old Buick in the Mississippi River. The human remains inside may have solved a decades-old missing person's case
Two Minnesota fishermen may have made an unexpected crack in a decades-old missing persons case. One of the fishermen, Brody Loch, was fishing in the Mississippi River in Sartell, about 75 miles outside Minneapolis, and stumbled upon a 1960s Buick submerged 20 feet underwater. The car was picked up thanks to Loch's sonar after the friend he was fishing with made a catch nearby. He called the police about the suspicious vehicle, and days later, authorities uncovered human remains inside the car. 'It was 100 percent luck,' Loch told WCCO. 'If my buddy wouldn't have caught that walleye, then we would have just kept on floating down and never would have found it.' Authorities processed the vehicle and learned it belonged to Roy Benn, who mysteriously disappeared in 1967 with a large sum of money. On the last night he was seen, Benn dined at the King's Supper Club, north of Sartell and then drove a 1963 metallic blue Buick Electra, according to a missing person bulletin from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. He was 59 at the time, according to St. Cloud Daily Times archives viewed by CNN. The human remains found inside the vehicle are believed to belong to Benn, who was declared legally dead in 1975, eight years after he went missing. "Looking back at some of the original case files, there was talk of quarries, there was talk of the Mississippi river, but of course, technology in the 1960s is nowhere near what we have now," said Sartell Police Chief Brandon Silgjord. 'Tons of credit for a fisherman to actually see that and then have the forethought to call the sheriff's office and make that report,' Silgjord said. 'Artifacts, clothing items, different things like that will absolutely help in piecing this whole thing together,' Silgjord said. Silgjord says investigators have received questions about the cash Benn was carrying when he vanished. "I think perspective needs to be offered sometimes, of what a large amount of cash looked like in 1960 versus now," Silgjord said. "Which very well could have been, from reading some of those original reports, several hundreds of dollars." The Benton County Sheriff's Office is leading the investigation for the case, and the remains found in the Buick have been sent to a medical examiner's office for examination.
Indian Express
2 days ago
- Indian Express
US fisherman spots car in river; leads to break in missing persons cold case from 1967
A fisherman in Minnesota may have helped solve a nearly six-decade-old missing persons case after spotting a submerged car in the Mississippi River, CNN reported. Brody Loch told CNN affiliate WCCO that he detected the vehicle with his sonar device last weekend while fishing. 'It was 100 per cent luck, if my buddy wouldn't have caught that walleye, we would have kept on floating down (the river) and never would have found it,' he said. Three days later, divers located the car in Sartell, Minnesota, and discovered human remains inside, according to Stearns County Sheriff Steve Soyka. Investigators identified the vehicle as a 1963 metallic blue Buick Electra belonging to Roy George Benn, who was last seen in September 1967. The sheriff's office confirmed that the vehicle's identification number matched Benn's car. A fisherman thought he spotted a car in the Mississippi River. He may have just helped solve a cold case from 1967 — Mark Parshall @markparshall (@MarkParshall) August 17, 2025 'Based on the human remains, items found in the car, and verification of the VIN number of the vehicle, the Sheriff's Offices believe this to be Mr Benn,' officials said in a statement. Benn, a businessman from Sauk Rapids, Minnesota, disappeared at the age of 59, shortly after being seen dining at King's Supper Club north of Sartell. His wife had died the year before. He was declared legally dead in 1975 after years of unsuccessful searches. Benton County Sheriff Troy Heck said his office had received tips over the years but none had led to answers. He said the remains have now been sent to a medical examiner for analysis. 'We believe there's strong indication that this is going to be Roy Benn's vehicle, and those are likely his remains,' Heck told CNN. 'We're just grateful that we may likely have finally gotten the break that we needed to bring closure to this family.'
