The body of a Kansas man missing for 23 years was found submerged in a car, authorities announced Tuesday.
Fremont O'Berg of rural Paola, Kansas, had been missing since 1992. His body was found in the driver’s seat of his 1981 Chevrolet Citation in Hillsdale Lak after a
fisherman reported seeing the car on a sonar device, Reuters reported.
The car was about 40 yards from a boat ramp in 20 feet of water. The lake is about 40 miles southwest of Kansas City.
Miami County undersheriff Wayne Minckley said foul play wasn’t suspected following an autopsy.
"You are always hopeful, but sometimes you think it is never going to be solved after 20 years," Minckley said, according to Reuters. “It's a huge relief for the family as well as for the sheriff's office."
O’Berg was 57 when he disappeared and suffered from heart and liver issues as well as
acute bronchitis, The Kansas City Star reported. A search at the time included Hillsdale Lake, but nothing was discovered.
Officials from the Miami County Sheriff’s Office, the Osawatomie Fire Department, and the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks & Tourism pulled the car from the water.
“Our father's recovery answers many questions and is bringing much needed closure for our family,” members of O’Berg’s family said in a statement. “We are fully confident that the Miami County sheriff will continue to see this case through to its completion.”
O’Berg was last seen in Miami County on Jan. 6, 1992, carrying a set of car keys with an attached pocket knife,
according to The Charley Project, which profiles cold cases of missing people.
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