Found Deceased TN - Erin Foster, 18, & Jeremy Bechtel, 17, Sparta, 3 April 2000 *car found in 2021*

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Jeremy Lee Bechtel

Endangered Missing -- Missing Since: April 3, 2000

Missing From: Sparta, Tennessee

Height: 5'8" -- Weight: 155 lbs -- Hair Color: Brown -- Eye Color: Blue

Jeremy's ears are pierced multiple times each.

Erin Leigh Foster

Endangered Missing -- Missing Since: April 3, 2000

Missing From: Sparta, Tennessee

Height: 5'8" -- Weight: 115 lbs -- Hair Color: Blonde -- Eye Color: Blue

Jeremy's ears are pierced multiple times each.



Jeremy and Erin visited a mutual friend in Sparta, Tennessee, then left in Erin's car. Witnesses saw them outside of Sparta at approximately 10:00 pm on April 3, 2003. They may have left of their own accord, but the circumstances are unclear. Both remain missing.


NCMEC

NamUs

Charley Project

 

[Kimster]

A new article about this disappearance. http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/jan/22/2-sparta-teens-disappeared-12-years-ago/

 

[MagnoliaMountain]

Jeremy Bechtel

Erin Foster

Missing for 13 years. Come home soon.

 

[neverletgo]

Jeremy Bechtel

Erin Foster

Missing for 13 years. Come home soon.

:gthanks: for bumping, MagnoliaMountain!

It's discouraging how little there seems to be out there regarding Erin and Jeremy's disappearance.

As stated in other cases here, Topix posts should be taken with a grain of salt, but it's one of the few things I saw in a search about the case other than their pages at Charley Project, NAMPN, etc.:

http://www.topix.net/forum/city/sparta-tn/TUI5GQHRBN2O0FRM2

 

[justagirl247]

i live in this area and this is the first i have ever heard of this case

 

[~Lyric~]

Jeremy and Erin, still praying for you both and just a little bump here to say, You are not forgotten~

This is an old 2013 news report~

Ledbetter believes her son and his girlfriend did not run away. Bechtel worked at the Sparta Burger King while he attended high school. Erin also worked at a nearby restaurant. They never picked up their checks.

"If they were going to run, they would need money, for food and shelter," said Ledbetter.

Adding another layer of mystery to the disappearance, both Bechtel and Foster were last seen in the car belonging to Foster's father. The car was never found.

Throughout the years, Ledbetter has never given up hope that her son will be found.

"Somebody knows what happened. I don't care what happened, I just want my son and Erin back home," said Ledbetter.

If you have any information on the disappearance of Bechtel and Foster, call the White County sheriff's department at 931-836-2700.

http://www.wsmv.com/story/23521378/mother-hopes-son-missing-for-13-years-will-be-found

 

[wendybtn]

Whenever people are missing and the vehicle is never found, my first thought is in the water.

 

[TennesseeGal]

After nearly 20 years, search continues for White County teens who vanished

 

[wendybtn]

This case sounds very solvable. I wonder why nothing ever happened. Seems like Sheriff's Departments in small towns in Tennessee get more money to work with drug agents and arrest those criminals instead of the painstaking work of finding a murderer.
Full Disclosure: I live in small town Tennessee.

 

[Blue Girl1991]

Taken from an old article from 2012
Detective Chris Isom regarding Gerath Bradley

"I would not call him a suspect. He has cooperated with us every time and in every way. When we asked him to take a polygraph, he did not hesitate, and he passed it."

'A Baffling Case:' 2 Sparta teens disappeared 12 years ago
------------------------------------------------------------
In my opinion the fact that he has passed a polygraph test does not enough to clear him totally as a suspect

I hope for justice for Erin & Jeremy and for their families, I wish this would happen this year.

 

[apt106]

I'm a writer, researching the case of Erin Foster and Jeremy Bechtel who disappeared in April 2000 from Sparta, TN.

If anyone knew them or has information about the case and would be willing to speak with me, please write me a message with the best way to reach you.

Thanks.

 

[thatch9201]

Erin Foster's vehicle pulled from Calfkiller River approximately 21 years after she and Jeremy Betchel went missing

Erin Foster's vehicle pulled from Calfkiller River approximately 21 years after she and Jeremy Betchel went missing

 

[cutter99]

https://www.newschannel5.com/news/white-county-cold-case-brings-new-answers-with-found-car

 

[Darling136]

Reportedly, human remains were found inside the car.

CAR FOUND AT BOTTOM OF CALFKILLER IN SPARTA SOLVES 20 YEAR MISSING PERSONS CASE

 

[ChatteringBirds]

Sincere condolences to their families.

 

[JnRyan]

The Charley Project's recent update seems to indicate the remains inside the vehicle still need further processing to make an ID. The Charley Project still does not have a status of "Resolved" so they may still be considered missing.
Erin Leigh Foster – The Charley Project

Jeremy Lee Bechtel – The Charley Project

Details of Disappearance
Erin was last seen in the company of her childhood friend Jeremy Bechtel, who is also missing. They visited a mutual friend that day, then left the friend's house in Erin's black two-door 1998 Pontiac Grand Am with tinted windows and the Tennessee license plate number 473EJR.

Witnesses saw Jeremy and Erin in the car outside of Sparta, Tennessee at approximately 10:00 p.m. on April 3, 2000. They have never been heard from again and Erin's car disappeared with them.

At first investigators believed he and Erin had left of their own accord, but the passage of time has made this theory less likely. Since their disappearances there has been no activity on their Social Security numbers, and Erin never renewed her driver's license.

In November 2021, a man using sonar to look through parts of the Calfkiller River found a submerged car, which turned out to be Erin's 1998 Pontiac Grand Am. When it was pulled from the river, human remains were found inside it, but it's not clear if there was one body or more than one. Authorities are working to identify the remains.

Jeremy and Erin's disappearances remain unsolved.

 

[dulldullmike]

They have been found. See link. Also here. I'm glad the families have finally gotten closure after 21 years.

 

[strawberry]

They have been found. See link. Also here. I'm glad the families have finally gotten closure after 21 years.

I just saw this in a Tik Tok. WOW

 

[tarabull]

Scuba-Diving YouTuber Finds Car Linked to Teens Missing Since 2000

 

[Deleted member 287549]

Horrible case, especially given the young age of this couple. It's a sad coincidence that this is the second case in this past week where old missing persons cases were solved by pulling a car out of the river (the other one was KC in GA). Though this is cold comfort to the family, at least they're getting closure here & they know these kids didn't just run away to start a new life somewhere else.

Based on the background re: this case, it seems like foul play may have been involved. Or, as with other cases where a car was found submerged in the water after many years - it may have been a simple accident.

Hopefully the truth will come out.