A YOUTUBER has helped cops find the remains of a man who had been missing for a decade.

A Hyundai Elantra belonging to Donnie Erwin, who was last seen in Camdenton, Missouri in December 2013, was found on December 16, 2023, at the Southern Camden County pond.

On December 23, detectives from the Camden County Sheriff’s Office, along with cadaver dogs, returned to the pond, where the animals were alerted to the presence of human remains.

The following morning, on Christmas Eve, detectives returned to the pond with divers from the Mid County Protection District.

The divers were able to recover human remains from the water along with an artificial hip that matched one Erwin had.

A forensic pathologist will have to run tests on the remains to determine if they belong to Erwin, however, investigators are confident that the remains belong to him.

Investigators were alerted to the car with the help of a freelance videographer and drone pilot, James Hinkle.

Hinkle was interested in the Donnie Erwin missing person’s case for years and runs the YouTube channel, Echo Divers.

He flew his drone in an area of Southern Camden County and believed that he found a car submerged in a small pond on private property.

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“I flew over several different locations that day,” Hinkle told Inside Edition.

“And I was actually coming back up to the place that Donnie said he was going to go and pick up cigarettes.

“When I got in the air, look down you could see something inside the water…so I actually flew down and got in closer and as I did, I started to realize, you know, this could be it.”

Hinkle spoke with the property owner and conducted a small search on foot and by kayak, which led to the discovery of a lightly-colored car in the water.

After the shocking discovery, Hinkle and the property owner called deputies.

Detectives from the CCSO and divers took over the search and found a car with a license plate that matched Erwin’s missing Hyundai.

“It was a little honoring to be part of this because, you know, Donnie was a veteran and I just felt an obligation to help this guy out,” said Hinkle.

Investigators immediately reached out to Erwin’s family.

“All of us at the Camden County Sheriff’s Office who have investigated this case for ten years are elated at the recovery and overjoyed with the closure we know this brings to the family,” read a statement on Facebook.

“This development would not have been possible without the assistance of countless volunteers throughout the years.

“From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you all.”