Search for arrowheads led group to remains of man missing since 2016, Missouri cops say
Two residents who were searching for arrowheads late last year spotted “what they thought to be human remains at the bottom of a steep ravine, under a rock crevice,” according to Missouri officials.
They were right.
Responding detectives recovered skeletal remains and tattered clothes, according to the Camden County Sheriff’s Office.
About nine months later, authorities confirmed those remains belonged to Gary Kaeter, 62, of Licking, Missouri.
The man was last seen alive in May 2016 in Texas County, Missouri, according to a July 5 news release. In June of that year, his vehicle was towed from a state road in the city of Linn Creek.
“At that time, there was no evidence of Kaeter’s whereabouts and no signs of suspicious activity in or near the vehicle,” officials said. “MSHP Troopers later returned to the area but found no additional evidence during their investigation.”
Following the October 2021 discovery, the sheriff’s office says it worked with the San Diego Police Department to get a DNA sample of a close family member of Kaeter.
The family member’s DNA was analyzed by an independent forensics laboratory against a sample from the human remains found in Linn Creek, officials said. The test confirmed the remains belonged to Kaeter.
“Investigators do not suspect foul play, but they said the cause of death is undetermined,” KOMU reported.
The sheriff’s office did not immediately respond to a request from McClatchy News for more information.
Linn Creek, in Camden County, is about 95 miles northwest of where Kaeter was living in Licking, in Texas County.
Mushroom hunters found 60-year-old’s body in Missouri well, leaving more questions
Dog walker discovers human remains in wooded area of Michigan, police say
Person looking for firewood finds human remains in Ohio woods, police say
