Amateur investigator, YouTube creator helps break decade-old missing person cold case


The Youtuber spent a year tracing generations of Erwin's relatives and spending his free time searching for him after work, documenting his efforts on his channel. — Detective Sgt Jeremiah Burnett/Camden County Sheriff’s Office via AP

JEFFERSON CITY: A decade-old cold case centered on a Navy veteran who disappeared without a trace in rural Missouri is hot again after an amateur sleuth and YouTube creator's help led police to unidentified human remains.

Donnie Erwin, a 59-year-old Camdenton resident, went missing on Dec 29, 2013, after he went out for cigarettes and never returned. His disappearance piqued the interest of longtime true crime enthusiast and videographer James Hinkle last year, and the Youtuber spent a year tracing generations of Erwin's relatives and spending his free time searching for him after work, documenting his efforts on his channel. He eventually discovered Erwin's car hidden in a small pond.

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