New evidence has surfaced in the cold case disappearance of a fisherman who went missing decades ago. Authorities recently discovered the remains of a human foot in a hiking boot.
They linked the boot to the fisherman, who has been missing since 1997. The Sevier County Sheriff's Office revealed that someone found the boot when it washed to shore at Fishlake, Utah. Investigations determined it was a boot made in 1996. That's a year before David White, a fisherman in Washington, Utah, went missing.
Prior to going missing, the fisherman planned a fishing trip with some buddies. He even rented a nearby hotel room. However, those plans didn't continue. His friends canceled, so White decided to go fishing without them. No one ever saw him again. Later, bystanders found his empty boat still trolling on Fishlake. They also found some of his belongings floating, suggesting that he may have fallen into the lake and drowned.
"There were no witnesses at the time. All of this was a mystery until now," the news release stated.
Fisherman Confirmed As Remains
"Testing came back with a 99.9994% certainty that the DNA samples were related, one being the paternal parent of the other. We were very excited to share this with the White daughters," the Sevier County Sheriff's Office said.
It gives some closure to the family.
Stefanie Bennett, White's daughter, said in a statement, "We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the Sevier County Sheriff's Office, SAR's, Detective Sgt Pearson, Detective Sgt Larsen, Sheriff Curtis, and Gary (Moulton) from Fishlake Lodge for their incredible support and tireless efforts."
"We are also deeply grateful to the individual and his dog who found the shoe - without them, we would not be where we are today," Bennett continued.
Sevier County Sheriff Nathan J. Curtis also is glad to finally give some closure.
"This case has been on the mind of every one of the SAR members who were involved in the search 28 years ago. It is good to finally have some closure for the family and the searchers," Curtis said in the press release.
