Robert Heikka: Florida teacher's body found in submerged car 3 years after his disappearance
NEW SMYRNA BEACH, FLORIDA: An unidentified body was found on April 8 in the car of a Port Orange teacher Robert Heikka, who was 70 when last seen in October 2020. As per Volusia County Sheriff's Office, Heikka’s car, a white 2012 Chevrolet Impala bearing FL tag KRZI78, was found in a canal near Pioneer Trail in New Smyrna Beach.
Sharing the details along with pictures, Volusia Sheriff's Office on Facebook wrote, "The vehicle belonging to missing Port Orange teacher Robert Heikka has been found in a body of water in the area of 4290 Pioneer Trail, between SR 44 and 415. The VSO Dive Team is in the process of recovering the vehicle now." The office also provided updates stating, "UPDATE 1: The car is in a canal along Pioneer Trail where the water level has recently dropped significantly. It hasn’t been determined if it’s occupied. Thanks to Sunshine State Sonar Search Team and Recon Dive Recovery for spotting the vehicle and confirming the tag. UPDATE 2: The car has been removed from the water, with 1 deceased occupant discovered inside. While positive ID has not officially been made, the Port Orange Police Department has been in contact with Mr Heikka’s family. Our thoughts go out to the Heikka family and friends this evening."
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Who was Robert Heikka?
Heikka, who has been missing since October 25, 2020, worked in the Volusia County School District since 1989 and taught at Creekside Middle School since 2002. The Sunshine State Sonar Search Team, a nonprofit volunteer search team, described the details of his disappearance saying, "Heikka was seen leaving home in his car October 25 and the same day investigators said Heikka's cellphone was tracked to the area of I-4 and State Road 44. After that, the phone became inactive. Multiple law-enforcement agencies launched a massive search effort but Heikka was nowhere to be found." The team added, "On the two-year anniversary of Robert’s disappearance, Sunshine State Sonar teamed up with Recon Dive Recovery , contacted the Port-Orange detectives handling Robert ‘s case. After a lengthy discussion we formulated a plan to find Robert. Over the next 7 months, we conducted a 30 mile long ground search and sonar searched over 70+ bodies of water between Orlando and his home in Port Orange. After coming up empty on those searches, we all felt we needed to go back to the area of his last cell phone ping. This particular area was searched heavily by multiple sonar teams with no luck. During a ground search conducted in November of 2022 on Pioneer Trail we discovered a small canal in the woods. This tiny body of water was setback 75 feet from the road and was covered by trees and thick brush. At the time of the search, we had no sonar equipment and the canal looked extremely unlikely considering the surroundings and size of it. We returned to this body of water, five months later for a second look at it. We discovered the water levels had dropped 50% in this area since our last search. Using a special piece of sonar equipment, we checked the depths of this tiny canal. Realizing the canal was only 4 feet deep we made a visual inspection from end to end. That is when we discovered Robert’s vehicle at the far end sitting upright with the roof partially exposed. Ken from Recon Dive Recovery dove on the vehicle and confirmed the license plate. We immediately contacted the detectives from Port Orange PD."
Dead person identified
The Sunshine State Sonar Search Team stated, "[Heikka] lost control of his vehicle on a sharp corner that fateful night. The vehicle went crashing through 75 feet of trees and brush before ending up in this small canal. This was truly a team effort! We would not have found Robert if it were not for the hard work of the Port Orange Police Department detectives! They provided us the information leading to this area." And later added, "We would like to express our sincere condolences to Robert’s friends and family. This is an extremely sad case with such a tragic ending." Port Orange Police Department also shared the team's account and confirmed the teacher's death.