PORT ORANGE, Fla. — The vehicle of missing 70-year-old middle school teacher, Robert Heikka, was recovered Saturday, along with human remains, according to the Volusia County Sheriff's Office.

The disappearance of Heikka, from Port Orange, Florida, has been under investigation for two years.

What You Need To Know

  • A vehicle and body connected to the disappearance of Robert Heikka were recovered Saturday, according to the Volusia County Sheriff's Office 

  • A positive identification is pending, but Port Orange officials have been in contact with Heikka's family 

  • Sunshine State Sonar made the discovery of Heikka's vehicle after returning to a site searched months earlier, with newly reduced water levels

While a positive identification of the remains has yet to be made, the sheriff's office says Port Orange police are in contact with the Heikka family.

Heikka disappeared on October 25, 2020, and was last seen at his home in Port Orange driving away in his white 2012 Chevrolet Impala.

Heikka was a cherished member of the community and had worked for Volusia County schools since 1989.

He had been teaching at Creekside Middle School since 2002.

Heikka was spotted on surveillance video on October 24 making a normal withdrawl at an ATM near Cocoa, according to police.

The following day, they pinged his phone near I-4 around New Smyrna Beach.

After that, his phone went dead and there has been no trace of him, according to police.

Despite a massive search effort launched by multiple law-enforcement agencies, Heikka could not be located.

In a Facebook post from Sunshine State Sonar, the team said they have been searching bodies of water with the help of Recon Dive Recovery since the two-year anniversary of Heikka's disappearance last October. 

According to the sonar team, over the next seven months, they conducted a 30-mile long ground search and sonar searched over 70+ bodies of water between Orlando and Port Orange, but they had no success.

The team returned to one of the sites five months later, and after discovering that the water levels had dropped 50% since their last search, they used a special piece of sonar equipment to check the depths of the tiny canal.

They made a visual inspection of the canal and discovered Heikka's vehicle sitting upright with the roof partially exposed.

The team expressed their sincere condolences to Heikka's friends and family, stating that this was an extremely sad case with a tragic ending.

They also thanked the Port Orange Police Department detectives for their hard work and transparency, which had helped them solve the case.