Case closed for driver who vanished in 1967, found in car in Mississippi River in August

Central Minnesota officials are closing the decades-old missing-person case that came back into the limelight this summer when a rusty Buick was dredged from the Mississippi River.

In September, the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office used DNA to identify the human remains found in the vehicle of Roy Benn, a 59-year-old widower from Sauk Rapids who vanished in September 1967.

On Wednesday, Benton County Sheriff Troy Heck said the medical examiner’s office found no evidence of foul play and concluded Benn died after a single-vehicle crash that landed him in the water. The death was ruled accidental, Heck said.

Reports from the time say Benn was last seen the evening of Sept. 24, 1967, at the popular King’s Supper Club north of Sartell wearing a suit with a red tie, a white French-cuffed shirt and gold and pearl cufflinks.

It was later determined he was last seen about 4 a.m. the next day, eating breakfast at a café attached to a gas station on the east side of the Mississippi River in Sartell.

Because he lived alone, Benn wasn’t reported missing right away. The first story about his disappearance was in the St. Cloud Times a few days later.

It was estimated Benn could have been carrying $5,000, equivalent to about $48,000 today, which led officials to speculate he was murdered for the money he was carrying.

For decades, authorities followed tips about Benn’s disappearance, which led to searches in central Minnesota quarries and ditches. Tips came from across the country.

In early August, Watkins resident Brody Loch stumbled upon what looked like a vehicle about 24 feet below his boat using his newly purchased Garmin forward-facing sonar model.

Loch returned to the spot, just north of the Sartell dam and close to the western shore of the river, the following day to get a second look. He then reported it to the police.