Robert Helphrey: Missing man's car with human remains dragged out of lake 16 years after he was last seen
PALM HARBOR, FLORIDA: Humans remains have been found inside a submerged car in Florida that reportedly belong to Robert Helphrey, a man who was reported missing in 2006. Sonar search and recovery teams discovered a Mitsubishi SUV at the bottom of a retention pond in Palm Harbor on Thursday, April 13, and found that the license plate of the car matched that of Helphrey’s vehicle, Fox 13 reported.
On Friday, April 14, deputies from the Pinellas County Sheriff’s office towed the car out of the water. Authorities later confirmed that they found human bones inside the vehicle but did not reveal if the remains belonged to Helphrey. The sheriff’s office said that the case is currently considered to be an open and active investigation while the medical examiner’s office is working to identify the cause of death, the publication reported.
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What happened to Robert Helphrey?
Helphrey was reported missing in 2006 after being last seen leaving Peggy O’Neill’s Bar in Palm Harbor around 12 am on May 22. The bar reportedly stands across the street from the Thirsty Marlin where Helphrey worked as a general manager. On Thursday, April 13, his car with the remains was found about six minutes away from the same pub, the outlet noted.
Authorities previously told the publication that Helphrey was driving to meet a friend on the day of his disappearance but never arrived at the location. Brian St Arnold, Helphrey’s childhood friend and owner of the Thirsty Marlin restaurant, told Fox 13 that the latter worked at the location on the night he went missing. St Arnold said he hopes the discovery clears all rumors about his friend’s disappearance. He also shared that he believes Helphrey took a wrong turn on the night of May 22, 2006, and ended up in the lake. “It’s just amazing that nobody saw him that night. No one heard anything. He didn’t yell for help,” he mentioned. Following the latest discovery, St Arnold received a call from a team member of Sunshine State Sonar.
“There’s been lots of mysteries over the years. So many people have asked us, ‘have you heard what happened to Bob? Did anybody find…’ and about a year ago this fella came to us and said that he was going to be looking with sonar equipment and trying to find Bob and gave an interview with us, called me back a couple of days later and said, ‘I will find him. Give me some time.’ He did,” St Arnold revealed.
Recovery groups working on Robert Helphrey’s case for a year
The Sunshine State Sonar and Recon Dive Recovery reportedly assisted the Pinellas County Sheriff’s office in locating Helphrey’s vehicle. The volunteer organizations are dedicated towards going through national missing person’s databases to research information about missing individuals. “We start looking at the person’s work address, home address, patterns of life where they like to hang out, last cell phone pings,” Ken Fleming of Recon Dive Recovery told the publication.
The groups, which had been working on Helphrey’s case for a year, use sonar and magnet equipment to help locate vehicles underwater and were able to identify Helphrey’s vehicle despite zero-visibility conditions. Fleming said that he hopes the man’s family gets closure after 16 years. “When the family member comes up and gives you a hug and it’s bittersweet, you know, they’re glad you’re there. They wish you weren’t,” he mentioned.