A 20-year-old missing person case was concluded after their remains were found and recovered from a submerged car.
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Per numerous outlets, such as PEOPLE, authorities announced that the human remains from a submerged car found last year were of a man who has been missing for two decades.
Steven Willard Anderson went missing in June 2004, in Salt Lake City. According to the The Salt Lake Tribune, he was on his way to a a family cabin in the Flaming Gorge but never arrived. It was a cold case for the next 20-and-a-half years.
Authorities finally reached the finish line of the cold case when his car was found in the Starvation Reservoir on September 29, per the Sheriff's Office. Reportedly, after the media brought attention to the case once more in March 2022, two key individuals got involved. Doug Bishop, with the United Search Corps, and Dave Sparks, with Spark Motors, began working on the cold case.
"On September 29, 2024, Bishop located a submerged vehicle at a depth of approximately 50 feet in Starvation Reservoir. The vehicle was later confirmed to be connected to Anderson's case," the Sheriff's Office said.
The next day, the car was recovered.
Human Remains Found In Car Confirmed To Be Anderson's
At the time of the statement, identification was still pending. However, we now know that it was indeed Steven Willard Anderson in the car.
With the missing person finally found, the case was closed. No foul play was involved in his death, officials have said.
His family can finally rest easy knowing he's been found.
Anderson's son, Axel, spoke to Fox 13. He said, "Just been a wound that, you know has continuously been opened over the past 20 years just not knowing."
"It's good to have some closure for the family and I'm excited for the future now."
"The finality of it all but also the closure of it all that provides all of us with the abilities to say, 'Okay, this is what's happened,'" he continued.
The United Search Corps
shared a heartfelt message to Anderson's family back in October. "Our hearts go out to you during this difficult time. While nothing can undo the pain of losing a loved one, we hope that the answers found will bring some measure of peace," they wrote.
