YouTuber finds car of Tennessee teens missing for 21 years, helping advance cold case
Unidentified human remains were found inside the car
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A scuba-diving YouTuber has found a car connected to the cold case disappearance of two Tennessee teens who went missing without a trace 21 years ago.
The vehicle was submerged in a local river, according to reports.
Unidentified human remains were also found inside the black Pontiac Grand Am late last month after Jeremy Beau Sides of the YouTube channel "Exploring with Nug" discovered the car that Erin Foster, 18, and Jeremy Bechtel, 17, were believed to have been traveling in on the night they disappeared, WTVF-TV of Nashville reported.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The pair left Bechtel’s home on the night of April 3, 2000, and were never seen again.
Despite an extensive investigation by the White County Sheriff’s Office in Sparta, Tennessee, investigators didn’t uncover any leads on the teens’ location.
With the help of sonar and advice from the sheriff on where to search the nearby Calfkiller River, Sides uncovered the car under the water late last month.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The human remains will be sent for genetic testing and dental record analysis if possible, WTVF reported.
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While they haven’t been positively identified, the families were notified of the discovery.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Unidentified human remains were also found inside the black Pontiac Grand Am late last month after Jeremy Beau Sides of the YouTube channel "Exploring with Nug" discovered the car Erin Foster, 18, and Jeremy Bechtel, 17, were believed to have been driving on the night they disappeared, WTVF-TV in Nashville reported. (White County Sheriff's Office)
Sides’ YouTube channel says he dives in "rivers and lakes recovering lost or stolen property, clean up the waterways, and help bring closures to families in need." He has more than 138,000 subscribers.
"It was a very small town, two teenagers go missing and no one knows where they went. Everybody knew these kids, they went to school with them, you know," Sides told WTVF. "Half the police officers went to school with these guys, they were friends with them. It was a very great feeling to bring so much closure and answers to so many people at once. It meant a lot to me and I know it meant a lot to all of them too."
Unidentified human remains were also found inside the black Pontiac Grand Am late last month after Jeremy Beau Sides of the YouTube channel "Exploring with Nug" discovered the car Erin Foster, 18, and Jeremy Bechtel, 17, were believed to have been driving on the night they disappeared. (YouTube)
Sheriff Steve Page said in a statement that he had told Sides he might be searching the wrong area after a member of Foster’s family asked the sheriff to watch one of his YouTube videos from when he began to look for the missing teens.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}White County Sheriff Steve Page helped point the YouTuber in the right direction to find the car. (Google Maps)
"The man changed his location to Hwy 84, Calfkiller River on 11/30/2021 where he later discovered a vehicle and called Sheriff Page," he wrote in the statement posted to Facebook. "Sheriff Page contacted Major John Meadows and his team arrived on the scene within minutes to investigate which led to the confirmed match of the vehicle."
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At this point, foul play is not suspected.