Mystery Solved: Portageville John Doe identified through collaboration with local anthropologists

NEW MADRID, Mo. (KBSI) — The New Madrid County Sheriff’s Office announced that they’ve identified the man once known as the Portageville John Doe, nearly three years after his remains were discovered in the Mississippi river near Portageville back in 2022.

The mystery that spanned two states and three years was solved, thanks to a combination of new DNA technology and local collaboration.

The male human remains were recovered from the river in June of 2022 sparking a search to identify the man.

“With New Madrid being on the Mississippi river, relative to other places, we get a lot of calls for recovered bodies,” New Madrid County Sheriff Joey Higgerson said.

Sheriff Higgerson said the case hit close to home — one of his own family members drowned nearly a decade ago.

“It was a month before he was recovered,” he said, “and so I just knew how it could really take a dramatic toll on family. So I thought it was something that we need to do everything we can to try to solve.”

After two years of dead ends the case had stalled – but last year law enforcement got the case back up and going.

Deputy Jackie Hays had been on the case since day one. He said the body was in a state of advanced decomposition when they found him.

“The river is very unforgiving,” he said.

This created challenges for investigators – traditional DNA testing came up empty.

But Hays found new hope last year — a collaboration between Southeast Missouri State University’s Anthropology department and law enforcement.

Dr. Jennifer Bengston, who specializes in human skeletal remains analysis, and her students reanalyzed the remains, selected new samples and partnered with forensic lab Othram for advanced testing

“People deserve to have their names associated with their remains,” Bengston said. “Families deserve to have answers. That’s kind of what keeps us going.”

Othram built a genetic profile and identified possible relatives outside Missouri.

Deputy Hays found a close family member of the man through social media and reference samples confirmed it.

The John Doe was 26-year-old Robert Eaton, missing from Elizabeth, Indiana since February 2022.

His family came to Missouri just weeks ago to bring him home.

Higgerson said with the help of students and scientists right here in Southeast Missouri, they’re now committed to making sure no family is left without answers.

“There’s no reason in 2025 to have a human body and not know who it belongs to,” he said. “So we’re going to do everything. If it takes two years, three years — whatever we gotta do to identify it, we’re going to do that.”

The expenses related to this case were covered by the Missouri State Highway Patrol, supplemented by private donations to the Forensic Anthropology program at Southeast Missouri State University.

The investigation into what happened to Robert Eaton and how he ended up in the Mississippi river is still ongoing. The New Madrid County Sheriff’s Office urges anyone with knowledge that might help advance this investigation to contact Harrison County (Indiana) Sheriff’s Department at (812) 738-2195 or call the Harrison County Tip line at (812) 738-TIPP (8477).

You can read the full press release, here.