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

White Co Residents From Solved Cold Case Laid To Rest This Weekend | News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 (newstalk941.com)
Benjamin Armstrong Saturday, January 15, 2022
''The two White County residents whose remains were discovered in December will be laid to rest this weekend.

Seventeen-year-old Jeremy Lee Bechtel and 18-year-old Erin Leigh Foster went missing in 2000. Their bodies were found inside their vehicle in Calfkiller River in Sparta.

Bechtel’s funeral will be Saturday at Oak Lawn Funeral Home and laid to rest at Skurlock Cemetery in Quebeck. Foster’s service will be held Sunday at Oak Lawn Funeral Home in Sparta.''
 
So did the medical examiner issue a report on their deaths? If not, when would we expect a report to be issued? Were they murdered or did they drown?

The comment of the diver who found them on the youTube video seemed to indicate he thought the car went around a curve and rolled over into the water.

 
White County Sheriff Steve Page says that there was no apparent signs of homicidal violence on the remains. From SpartaLive:

"On Dec. 1, 2021, Jeremy Sikes, an independent diver, found the car that had kept investigators searching for more than 21 years for the teens who were last seen in April 2000. Sikes received information from White County Sheriff Steve Page that the teens may have been seen in town and could have been driving on Highway 84 after leaving a party, which had kept the search in the western part of the county. Sikes then used his sonar equipment and was ultimately successful in locating Foster’s car in the Calfkiller River.

“We received confirmation this week that the human remains in the vehicle were indeed those of Jeremy Bechtel and Erin Foster,” Page said. “The medical examiner at the center for forensic evidence used dental records to positively identify the remains as those of Erin Foster, born 2.28.82 and Jeremy Bechtel born 11.7.82.”

Page went on to say there were no cuts on the bones to indicate any type of trauma from either sharp cutting instruments or gun shots.

“We didn’t see any signs of foul play, but we will continue to investigate this case until we are satisfied that we have all of the evidence needed to piece together what happened to Erin and Jeremy that night,” Page said, indicating the case will remain open until investigators are confident in their findings.​


Identities of teens confirmed: Erin Foster and Jeremy Bechtel can now be laid to rest by their families
 
Two questions:

1) Did the medical examiner perform an autopsy on Jeremy Bechtel & Erin Foster and issue a report with a cause of death? Why hasn't a media source reported this? Because the bodies of the two teen have already been released to the families for burial--so there must be an official cause of death already established.

2) In the above article from SpartaLive sail that White County Sheriff Steve Page said their investigation into Jeremy & Erin's death will remain open for now--is their investigation continuing or has this case now been closed?
 
In the video while Jeremy is under water he said the hood was missing but both driver and passenger windows were up.
During the recovery, both driver and passenger windows were broke out.

The car was on what was left of its tires sitting on the bottom but when they pulled it up out of the water, it was upside down.

I'm not criticizing the divers or the crane operator (maybe just a little) But I do rigging here at work and also run a 60/40 ton overhead crane. This seemed a bit careless to me to not spin the car under water with a single strap under the passenger wheel to get the car to face hood first towards the crane. Then follow through with another strap under the drivers wheel and pull at a slight angle up and towards the gaurdrail/road.

It looks to me as if they attached both straps to the the passenger and drivers side lower control arms and lifted it straight up causing the car to spin while underwater turning the hood towards the road and dragging the trunk on the bottom of the river. Possibly breaking the windows while stressing/flexing the frame and body.

So glad they were both found after all these years. RIP Young ones.
 
I would also like to add that the green slings they are using are "fiber optic slings". They are used on multiple lifts for whatever they are rated for.
And the way they are checked for structural integrity is by shining a light down one of the fiber and making sure the light comes out the other end. If one fiber is broken, it's sent to scrap.
 
Here is an updated story excerpt.

"After Erin Foster and Jeremy Bechtel vanished in 2000, there had been no new evidence until YouTube diver Jeremy Beau Sides discovered a car belonging to one of the teens underwater in November 2021.

Now, after more than 20 years of speculation, the families have laid to rest their missing children. And although lead investigator Major John Meadows said he is keeping the case open, he confirmed there was no evidence of foul play."

White County Sherriff's Department is still not closing this case. I wonder why?

"After the vehicle was recovered from the river, the remains were identified through dental records after being sent to the medical examiner in Nashville.

"We have ruled out foul play," Meadows said.

He added, however, that due to the remains having been in the water for so long, there wasn't much evidence to examine."

Did the medical examiner perform an autopsy on Jeremy Bechtel & Erin Foster's remains and issue a report with a cause of death?

 
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