Remains recovered from Utah reservoir confirmed to be man missing since 2004

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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The remains of a man who disappeared more than 20 years ago when he was on his way to his family's cabin have been found inside a submerged car in a Utah reservoir.

The Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office announced Tuesday that human remains recovered last year from a reservoir in Duchesne County have been identified as Steven Willard Anderson, 46, who went missing in 2004.

The Utah Office of the Medical Examiner and a private lab used DNA testing to identify Anderson's remains. No foul play is suspected in his death, and the case was officially closed Tuesday after decades of uncertainty for the family, the sheriff's office said.

“Just been a wound that, you know, has continuously been opened over the past 20 years just not knowing,” Anderson's son, Axel, told FOX 13 News. “It’s good to have some closure for the family, and I’m excited for the future now.”

Anderson’s relatives said he was driving a leased vehicle to a family cabin in Flaming Gorge to do some painting but never arrived, according to the Utah Department of Public Safety.

The former cold case had caught the attention of Doug Bishop from United Search Corps, a nonprofit that specializes in missing person cases, and Dave Sparks, a Utah entrepreneur and internet personality. The pair chronicled their search efforts in videos posted to YouTube and began working with law enforcement last spring.

On Sept. 29, 2024, United Search Corps discovered a submerged SUV around 50 feet deep in Starvation Reservoir. Law enforcement extracted the 2001 Toyota Sequoia and later identified it as the vehicle Anderson had leased. His family says the positive ID, and the knowledge that no foul play is suspected, will finally allow them to heal.