On Nov. 12, the Benton County Sheriff’s Office announced the cause of death of Roy Benn, who had been missing since 1997. The Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office has made a determination of Roy Benn’s cause and manner of death.
On Aug. 13th, law enforcement personnel recovered the body of Roy Benn from the Mississippi River in Sartell. Benn had been reported as a missing person from Benton County in September of 1967. After several weeks of examining Benn’s remains and the evidence available in this 58-year investigation, the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office concluded Benn died as the result of a single motor-vehicle crash with water submersion. No evidence of foul play was found in Benn’s death and this case will be closed with the death being ruled accidental.
The Benton County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank all the agencies who assisted in the investigation of Benn’s disappearance and recovery of Benn’s vehicle and remains. We are grateful for the partnership of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Stearns County Sheriff’s Office, Sartell Police Department, Sartell Fire Department and the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office.
This is a photo of Roy George Benn of Sauk Rapids taken sometime in the 1960s.
