Hall family awaits identification of human remains found inside missing teen’s vehicle
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IDAHO FALLS — A four year mystery surrounding the whereabouts of a missing teen may have come to an end Sunday after his car was found in the Snake River with human remains inside.
Matthew “Jed” Hall, then 16, left his parents home on Jan. 22, 2018. In the days, weeks and years that followed, Idaho Falls police detectives searched for Jed, who vanished in his 2009 gray Nissan Versa hatchback that cold winter day. He took a 9mm handgun and camping/survival type gear with him. Jed had reportedly left a note indicating he may attempt suicide.
On Sunday, a search and recovery dive team from Adventures With Purpose, along with the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office and the Idaho Falls Police Department, found the vehicle in the Snake River just south of the Johns Hole boat ramp in Idaho Falls. Human remains inside the car are awaiting positive identification and evidentiary processing of the vehicle is in progress, according to IFPD.
Police spokeswoman Jessica Clements tells EastIdahoNews.com previous searches of the general area by the Snake River have been conducted but IFPD does not have a dive team and their personnel did not conduct those searches.
Adventures With Purpose is an underwater sonar search and recovery dive team based in Oregon. The company says its goal is to help families locate missing loved ones underwater.
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Amy and Allen Hall, Jed’s parents, met the team by the river Sunday – the last known place where Jed’s cell phone pinged four years ago. Crews went into the water around 9 a.m. and within 20 minutes, they found a vehicle in 8 feet of water, according to an Adventures With Purpose Facebook post.
“Doug (from Adventures With Purpose) and Amy were being interviewed by a camera crew from the Dr. Phil Show when Jared (from Adventures With Purpose) returned to share images with the group as to their findings,” the Facebook post says. “With law enforcement already on scene, they took control of the area…Once on shore, Jared and Doug were able to confirm remains inside the vehicle.”
EastIdahoNews.com spoke with Amy Hall on Monday, who declined to comment on the new developments. She did explain, however, that this has been a four-year and three-month process.
“We are certainly grateful to the team from Adventures With Purpose for their assistance. The investigation is still not complete but this is obviously a major step forward,” Clements says.