The remains of Robert Heikka, a 70-year-old Florida teacher who had been missing for over two years, were found inside his submerged car in a canal along State Roads 44 and 415, according to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office.
Heikka was last seen on October 25, 2020, leaving his Port Orange home in his white 2012 Chevrolet Impala.
He was reported missing the following day when he failed to show up for work at Creekside Middle School, where he had been teaching in Volusia County for the last 30 years.
On April 8, the Sunshine State Sonar Search Team, Recon Dive Recovery, and Port Orange detectives recovered Heikka’s vehicle from the canal.
The medical examiner positively identified the remains as those of Mr. Heikka on April 11.
The nonprofit search team stated that they had searched over 70 bodies of water between Orlando and Heikka’s home in their quest to find him.
In November, the search agencies discovered a small canal, but it was obscured by trees and thick bushes, and no sonar equipment was available at the time.
When the recovery teams returned recently, they found that water levels in the area had dropped by 50%, allowing them to use the now-available sonar technology to inspect the canal.
In a statement, the sonar team explained, “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.”
Photos shared by the Volusia Sheriff’s Office depict Heikka’s submerged 2012 Chevrolet in the canal before it was retrieved.
The discovery of Heikka’s remains offers some answers to his family after a long and painful search.
Sunshine State Sonar Specialist Mike Sullivan told local news station WESH, “It just feels so good to give these families answers. I would never say it’s closure, because there is never closure for a family losing someone like this. It’s answers to what happened to their loved one.”