MOLINE, Ill. — Case closed.
After 28 years of not knowing what happened to their loved one, the family members of Steve Asplund finally got closure.
Moline Police Chief Darren Gault held a press conference on Sept. 12 to provide new details on the case; namely, the discovery of Asplund's body in St. Louis County, Missouri. Gault said foul play is not suspected in the disappearance, and no charges are being sought.
According to The Charley Project, the Moline native was 32 when he disappeared on the way home from a friend’s Moline residence in the area of 4th Street and 20th Avenue on Jan. 9, 1994.
Asplund borrowed a caulking gun from his friend Tim Miner in order to complete a home remodeling project. The short distance between their homes meant that Asplund should’ve arrived home within about five minutes after departing Miner’s house around 7:30 p.m.
Asplund never completed the project, and he never returned to his Moline home in the 1500 block of 28th Avenue.
After Asplund’s fiancée reported him missing the following morning, police discovered his black 1987 Ford Mustang abandoned in a parking lot at the 13th Street landing at the base of Interstate 74 in Bettendorf, about three miles from his Moline home.
Forensic evidence collected from the vehicle failed to provide any leads, according to the Quad Cities Missing Persons Network.
In late 1994, Asplund’s medical insurance card was found at Loud Thunder Forest Preserve in southwest Rock Island County. A search of the surrounding water bodies near the Mississippi River provided no new evidence.
For years, investigators pursued a bearded man who they believed was a possible witness in the case. Ironically, the man was supposedly wearing a Green Bay Packers jacket on the night of the disappearance, while Asplund was last seen wearing a Chicago Bears pullover jacket.
The man was finally identified in 2014, but an interview officially ruled him out as a suspect.
Asplund’s case has seen numerous leads come and go in the 28 years since his disappearance.
How did they find his body?
Chief Gault said barge dock workers discovered Asplund's body in a debris field next to a barge in St. Louis County, Missouri back in March 1994.
St. Louis County authorities attempted to identify the body but were unsuccessful. Fingerprints were not obtained due to degradation of the body. A discrepancy on his dental records "initially mislead investigators," according to a press release from Moline police.
In November 2021, Moline Police Department Detective Mike Griffin looked into the National Missing and Unidentified System, or NAMUS, to research recovered or unidentified remains found along the Mississippi River from Moline to Memphis, Tennessee.
Working backward from Tennessee within a timeframe of 1994-1996, Griffin located a recovered body that was discovered in St. Louis County on March 21, 1994. That body was found with grey sweatpants and white shoes, the same as what Asplund was wearing the night he went missing.
In 2022, Griffin contacted Dr. Lindsay Trammell, a forensic anthropologist with the St. Louis County Medical Examiner's office, about the case.
"After exhausting all efforts, the team determined they had to exhume the body for further examination," the release says. A bone sample obtained and compared with familial DNA samples from Asplund's family confirmed that the remains were Asplund's.
Asplund's family responds
Police released a statement from Asplund's brother, Mike, following the announcement of his case being closed:
"Thanks to all the media for shining light on Steve's disappearance today, and over the past 29 years. The news, while bittersweet, will allow us some closure. We'll still think of Steve every day, and miss him just the same, but these answers will provide comfort to us and his friends.
"We would like to thank the hundreds of people who have attended the vigils, and helped with searches we did when he first disappeared. The community support and concern has meant a lot to us, and we appreciate it more than we can possibly express."
Asplund's remains are currently buried in Friedens Cemetery in St. Louis. The Moline Police Department says it's working with the family to make arrangements on a decision for his final resting place.
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