DNA identifies Scott City man whose body was recovered from Mississippi River in 1988

FOX23 News at 9 p.m.

CRITTENDEN COUNTY, Ark., (KBSI) — Authorities have identified a Scott City, Missouri, man whose body was recovered from the Mississippi River in 1988, according to Crittenden County Sheriff Michael Allen.

Kevin Eugene Sander, 34, was reported missing after falling overboard from a barge near Dyersburg, Tennessee, in February 1988. He left behind a wife and two sons, ages 3 and 6, Allen said.
A fisherman discovered a body April 9, 1988, across from the Walls Landing boat dock in Walls, Mississippi. The fisherman contacted the DeSoto County Sheriff’s Department, which notified authorities in Crittenden County.

Deputies and search-and-rescue crews recovered the body about 300 feet from the Arkansas riverbank. The Arkansas medical examiner’s office determined the man drowned and found no evidence of trauma. His identity remained unknown for 38 years.

Investigators recently developed a possible match through the Combined DNA Index System, known as CODIS, according to Allen.

Capt. Chelsey Stafford traveled to Cape Girardeau on July 29 and collected voluntary DNA samples from two of Sander’s brothers. The samples were submitted to the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory, and subsequent testing confirmed Sander’s identity, Allen said.

The sheriff said a genealogy DNA test previously taken by one of Sander’s brothers helped investigators develop the lead.

Sander entered the river about 95 miles north of where his body was recovered, according to the sheriff. His cremated remains will be released to his family.

Allen credited Stafford and Samantha Smith, the crime laboratory’s cold case coordinator, with helping resolve the case.