MISSOURI STATE HIGHWAY PATROL
a division of the
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY

Division of Drug and Crime Control - P.O. Box 568, Jefferson City, Missouri 65102

News Release

For further information please contact: Sergeant Darrin Haslag
573-526-6302
02/16/2024

EMPHASIS: Human Remains Identified As Missing Osage County Man

The Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Control announces the recovery of human remains, identified as Derek C. Holtmeyer, 35, of Linn, Missouri. Holtmeyer’s body was located on February 8, 2024, by investigators with the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Troop F/I Criminal Unit.

On July 12, 2023, the family of Derek C. Holtmeyer contacted the Osage County Sheriff’s Office to report they had not had contact with him since the early morning hours of July 11, 2023. After taking a missing person’s report and conducting an exhaustive investigation into Holtmeyer’s disappearance, on October 13, 2023, Osage County Sheriff Michael Bonham formally requested the Missouri State Highway Patrol take over the investigation. At that time, the investigation into Holtmeyer’s disappearance was assigned to the Troop F/I Criminal Unit of the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Control.

On February 8, 2024, while conducting a ground search as part of their missing person investigation, patrol investigators located human remains in a wooded area near Chamois, Missouri, in Osage County. On February 15, 2024, the Boone County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed the identity of the remains as Derek C. Holtmeyer, of Linn, Missouri. The investigation into Holtmeyer’s death and disappearance is on-going. The Osage County Sheriff’s Office and the Osage County Coroner are assisting with the investigation.

Anyone with information regarding Holtmeyer’s disappearance is encouraged to contact Sergeant Marcus Reynolds of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, at (573) 751-1000.

For more news, follow the Missouri State Highway Patrol on X @MSHPTrooperDDCC

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