Authorities recovered unidentified human remains inside a submerged vehicle that belonged to missing Florida teacher Robert Heikka, volunteer search teams and local police confirmed over the weekend.
The Volusia Sheriff’s Office said in a statement on April 9 that a 2012 Chevrolet Impala had been located in a small canal along Pioneer Trail where the water level had recently dropped significantly.
Although positive identification of the occupant hasn’t been officially made yet, volunteer search teams that spotted the vehicle alerted the Port Orange Police Department and confirmed that the tags belonged to Heikka.
“The car has been removed from the water, with one deceased occupant discovered inside,” the sheriff’s office stated, noting investigators have already made contact with Heikka’s family. “Our thoughts go out to the Heikka family and friends this evening.”
Heikka, a 70-year-old former middle school teacher, was last seen on Oct. 25, 2020, at his home in Port Orange driving away in his Chevrolet Impala bearing Florida tag KRZI78.
According to officials, Heikka’s death appears to involve no foul play, explaining that he apparently lost control of his vehicle “on a dangerous stretch of Pioneer Trail with an S-curve limited to 45mph.”
Members of the nonprofit search organization, Recon Dive Recovery, said in a statement that they believe Heikka’s rate of speed on the day of the crash was “excessive.”
“The adjacent property owner reports this section of road has claimed five lives,” the organization wrote. “Perhaps additional markings or rumble strips would help prevent more accidents.”
Another nonprofit that assisted in the operation, Sunshine State Sonar Search Team, said in a statement that Heikka crashed his vehicle through 75 feet of trees and brush before ending up in the canal.
‘Beloved’ Teacher
Heikka, who goes by the name Bob, had been a teacher at the Volusia County School District since 1989, and he also taught at Port Orange’s Creekside Middle School since 2002.
Officials said after Heikka retired, the teacher returned to work “for an extra year of service as his Swan Song, just to be near the children he loved.”
On Oct. 26, 2020, he never showed up for work at Creekside, prompting worried colleagues of the “beloved” teacher to check up on him. When nobody responded to their calls, they alerted the police.
Recon Dive Recovery said many officials in Port Orange working on the cold case “recognized the teacher from their childhood; as his remains were respectfully recovered by Volusia Sheriff’s Office Dive Team, and processed for a DNA matching by their Forensics Team under the watch” of Port Orange detectives.
“He was a big man with a big heart,” they said. “He will be mourned again by the community, as his Family processes their grief, and seeks closure to the once-open question of his disappearance.”
Heikka’s neighbors told local investigators that they last saw the teacher leaving his home early on Oct. 24, 2020, the Daytona Beach News-Journal reported, and bank records showed that he had made a normal transaction at an ATM in Brevard County.
Officials tracked Heikka’s phone to the area of I-4 and State Road 44 shortly after he was reported missing, but after that, the phone became inactive. Since then, numerous law-enforcement agencies had launched massive search operations, but the teacher couldn’t be found.
