SEMO anthropology students help ID John Doe found in New Madrid County in 2022 as missing Indiana man

NEW MADRID COUNTY, Mo. (KFVS) - Human remains recovered from the Mississippi River in June 2022 were identified with the help of some Heartland students.

The New Madrid County Sheriff’s Office, in collaboration with the Southeast Missouri State University anthropology team, was able to successfully identify the John Doe as Robert J. Eaton.

On June 2, 2022, the sheriff’s office received a call about a human body that was spotted in the Mississippi River near Portageville, Mo. Officers recovered the remains, which were taken to a medical examiner for an autopsy.

The autopsy results showed the remains were those of a 20 to 30-year-old white male around 5 feet 10 inches tall. There were no signs of trauma and it was believed he likely died about two months prior.

The sheriff’s office said a traditional DNA profile was developed for comparison to missing persons, but no matches were returned.

New Madrid County investigators spent the next two years working to identify the Portageville John Doe, looking into potential missing person matches and following up on tips provided by the public.

Unfortunately, none of these tips led to a positive ID.

In June 2024, investigators contacted Dr. Jenifer Bengtson, professor of anthropology at SEMO, to consult on the case. Dr. Bengtson and her students traveled to Portageville and met with investigators to examine the remains and select samples for further testing.

The team sent dental and bone samples to Othram, a forensic genetic genealogy corporation, for advanced DNA testing and analysis. Their scientists were able to build a comprehensive profile, despite significant DNA degradation.

Following up on these leads, investigators found one of the potential relatives in the genealogy report made social media posts regarding a missing loved one who matched the demographic profile of the John Doe.

In April 2025, investigators interviewed these relatives and collected familial reference samples for confirmation testing--which confirmed the Portageville John Doe as 26-year-old Robert J. Eaton, who went missing from Elizabeth, Indiana in February 2022.

“As always, we are honored to work with our law enforcement and laboratory partners to help bring resolution to another case,” Dr. Jennifer Bengtson said in a news release. “Robbie’s family finally has some answers and can now lay him to rest. But so many other families are still waiting for news on their own lost loved ones. By some estimates, there are up to 40,000 sets of unidentified human remains in this country. We’ll keep working to help put a dent in that number.”

The cause of Eaton’s death and the circumstances regarding his disappearance are part of an ongoing investigation.

Anyone with information that might help advance this investigation is asked to contact the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department in Indiana at 812-738-2195 or call the Harrison County Tip line at 812-738-TIPP (8477).

The Missouri State Highway Patrol and private donations helped fund the work by SEMO’s Forensic Anthropology Program.

You can click here for more information on SEMO’s anthropology program and forensic work.