Port Arthur Police Locate Two Men Who Went Missing 14 Years Apart in Canal

[bullets13]

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[bullets13]

Pretty crazy stuff.  They were diving the canal looking for a man who went missing about ten days ago and found him, but also found a car with remains in it that matches the description of a car driven by a port neches man who went missing 14 years ago.  It kind of makes you wonder how many missing persons cases would be solved if police stations could devote a dive team to just search all of their water ways for some set amount of time until all likely places had been searched, although I’m sure it would be pretty expensive and time consuming.  There’s a YouTube channel called Adventures With Purpose that has a couple of divers who’ve solved 23 cold cases since 2019 by searching likely waterways in areas where people went missing, and a couple of those cases were solved coincidentally while looking for other people.  

[tvc184]

2 hours ago, bullets13 said:

Pretty crazy stuff.  They were diving the canal looking for a man who went missing about ten days ago and found him, but also found a car with remains in it that matches the description of a car driven by a port neches man who went missing 14 years ago.  It kind of makes you wonder how many missing persons cases would be solved if police stations could devote a dive team to just search all of their water ways for some set amount of time until all likely places had been searched, although I’m sure it would be pretty expensive and time consuming.  There’s a YouTube channel called Adventures With Purpose that has a couple of divers who’ve solved 23 cold cases since 2019 by searching likely waterways in areas where people went missing, and a couple of those cases were solved coincidentally while looking for other people.  

About 15 years ago Texas Equusearch (I think) was searching the canal along Hwy 82 for a specific vehicle and I think they found others but not the one they were looking for. For some reason there was a lot of news  media out there but I don’t remember the case. I remember the search because I stopped there briefly to watch the show and ended up talking to the media (in what I thought was a casual conversation). Unfortunately they used me for a spokesman and quoted me in the newspaper after I answered a typically stupid media question with an intentionally stupid answer. That was a lesson learned. You are never off the record with the media.  

 I remember several other cases where vehicles were found immediately that were submerged because someone witnessed the accident (or intentional act like a person getting rid of a stolen vehicle or trying to collect insurance money) or came upon the scene at night and saw the lights/taillights glowing under water before the battery went out. Any of those would have been missing had it not been for witnesses. 

It would be safe to say that hundreds (if not thousands) of missing vehicles and people could be found nationwide if waterways were searched. 

How much resources are going to be spent and who is going to spend it?

Also, it would not take dive teams to do an extremely time consuming and labor intensive job. There is plenty of underwater drones with search capable sonar and cameras. I have seen one locally owned by a private company and it has been hired locally by agencies for specific tasks.  I think that I have photos of it on my phone. Again however, who is going to pay? I think a good unit might run into hundreds of thousands of dollars. 

[bullets13]

4 hours ago, tvc184 said:

About 15 years ago Texas Equusearch (I think) was searching the canal along Hwy 82 for a specific vehicle and I think they found others but not the one they were looking for. For some reason there was a lot of news  media out there but I don’t remember the case. I remember the search because I stopped there briefly to watch the show and ended up talking to the media (in what I thought was a casual conversation). Unfortunately they used me for a spokesman and quoted me in the newspaper after I answered a typically stupid media question with an intentionally stupid answer. That was a lesson learned. You are never off the record with the media.  

 I remember several other cases where vehicles were found immediately that were submerged because someone witnessed the accident (or intentional act like a person getting rid of a stolen vehicle or trying to collect insurance money) or came upon the scene at night and saw the lights/taillights glowing under water before the battery went out. Any of those would have been missing had it not been for witnesses. 

It would be safe to say that hundreds (if not thousands) of missing vehicles and people could be found nationwide if waterways were searched. 

How much resources are going to be spent and who is going to spend it?

Also, it would not take dive teams to do an extremely time consuming and labor intensive job. There is plenty of underwater drones with search capable sonar and cameras. I have seen one locally owned by a private company and it has been hired locally by agencies for specific tasks.  I think that I have photos of it on my phone. Again however, who is going to pay? I think a good unit might run into hundreds of thousands of dollars. 

Yup, definitely cost prohibitive.  That’s what’s cool about the YouTube channel I mentioned, because they’re funded by donations and the money they make from views.  That said, they are also working on tips, not just randomly searching.  

[tvc184]

29 minutes ago, bullets13 said:

Yup, definitely cost prohibitive.  That’s what’s cool about the YouTube channel I mentioned, because they’re funded by donations and the money they make from views.  That said, they are also working on tips, not just randomly searching.  

The case I mentioned with all the media was from some kind of tip or clue. In this area alone there might be miles of waterways to search and it could turn up nothing.

 In the cases like in PA where the two cars were found with bodies, there will likely be no criminal charges so potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars (if not into millions)  would be spent to only “possibly” (assuming any results) buy some closure for a family. I am not minimizing that relief it would be.

 I wish there was a cost effective way to start systematically clearing areas. Maybe have a regional team like Jefferson, Hardin and Orange Counties with the many cities all putting in money and get some task force to start searching. It could be a location a day. I mean having a dedicated team trained in the technology and purchase of the equipment. Heck, there is probably grant money.

 The biggest problem would be finding someone to get the ball rolling with the research into the cost of the equipment, training, number of personnel needed, etc.