Louisville family gets some answers after son’s body found hundreds of miles away
It was a mystery that spanned more than two years and 300 miles. Tonight
By DeAndria Turner
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LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (WLKY) — It was a mystery that spanned more than two years and 300 miles. Tonight, a Louisville father finally has answers after his missing son was identified through forensic genealogy.
In February 2022, 26-year-old Robbie Eaton disappeared after leaving Caesars Casino in southern Indiana.
“Every birthday, my birthday, his birthday, every holiday. I was just praying that he was going to pop through the door and/or call me on my birthday. ‘Hey, pop. I’m fine out west, on the beach.’ You know, ‘Don’t worry about me.’ And, I just prayed for that call and pray that he would walk through the door,” said Robert Eaton Sr.
Robert Eaton held on to hope, but the call he hoped for never came. But in April, he got a different call from the New Madrid Sheriff’s Department in Missouri.
“They said that they had a possible hit on a John Doe. And they was thinking that it could be my son, but they can’t say for sure until they came to Louisville,” he said.
His body had been found in the Mississippi River more than 300 miles downstream, and nearly four months after he vanished.
The lead came from Othram, a Texas-based forensic lab. The lab worked with Southeast Missouri State University to develop a DNA profile and then used forensic genetic genealogy to search public DNA databases.
“We build the DNA profile and then we do forensic genetic genealogy, which is basically uploading these profiles into databases, looking at the families, the matches that are present, the relatives, genetic relatives. And then we provide leads back to law enforcement. And those leads come in the form of names of individuals that may be able to help to resolve the case,” said Colby Lasyone with Othram.
A match was made to one of Robbie’s second cousins who had submitted her DNA through 23andMe. Then, in early April, investigators traveled to Louisville to collect DNA samples from his parents.
“And then we got the call last Tuesday afternoon to confirm that it was him,” said Eaton.
Robbie’s body had been found in the Mississippi River more than 490 miles downstream, and nearly four months after he vanished.
“That’s the hardest part I have, is dealing with knowing that my son was in the river for 14 weeks before he was found,” he said.
Robbie’s family says they’re grateful for closure, but the questions of how he got there, and what happened that night still haunt them.
“I have some closure. I still have a lot of, you know, unanswered questions of what happened that night. We’re very happy to have them home.”
The circumstances of Eaton’s disappearance and death are the subject of an ongoing investigation. Anyone with knowledge that might help advance this investigation should contact the Harrison County (Indiana) Sheriff’s Department at (812) 738-2195 or call the Harrison County Tip line at (812) 738-TIPP (8477).
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