On March 26, 2020, 45-year-old Eugene Prins planned a short road trip with a friend to drop off a wood splitter. They started out in Woonsocket, South Dakota, and drove about 25 miles east to the tiny town of Fedora. After that, Eugene and his friend were spotted at a bar in Forestburg, which was along their route home. The last confirmed sighting of Eugene was at the bar. The truck they were in was seen on camera driving away from the bar at 7:38 PM. Other bar patrons said that you could tell they had been drinking, but Eugene didn’t appear to be visibly intoxicated, and he had mentioned that he wanted to go home, he had work in the morning. But according to Eugene’s friend, he made a detour to stop at a mutual friend’s farm. He went inside while Eugene stayed in the car. When the friend came out about 20 minutes later, Eugene was gone. And he has never been seen or heard from again.
If you have any information regarding the disappearance of Eugene Prins, please contact the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation at 605-773-3331.
UPDATE- In March of 2023, the following statement was released regarding Eugene Prins: “On March 26, 2020, Eugene Prins went missing in rural Sanborn County. His disappearance was reported to authorities the next day Friday March 27, 2020. Human skeletal remains, which were believed to be his, were found August 30, 2022. Today we were advised that results from DNA testing confirmed that the skeletal remains were in fact Eugene Prins. There is no evidence of any criminal activity with regard to this matter.
Authorities believe from a three-year investigation that on the evening of his disappearance, Mr. Prins, age 45, had been with a good friend running some errands, and subsequently they consumed alcohol. Later in the evening Mr. Prins’ friend stopped at a rural Woonsocket residence and went inside. Mr. Prins stayed in the vehicle reportedly asleep. At some point in time, the evidence indicates that Mr. Prins left the vehicle and walked south down the gravel road from this residence. On March 26, 2020, the conditions in the area were extremely wet and cold. After walking down the road and being seen by witnesses in a north bound vehicle, Mr. Prins left the roadway. In August of 2022, the skeletal remains which were found, were located approximately one mile and a half west of where evidence indicates Mr. Prins was last known to be on the night of his disappearance.
Anthropology testing was done on the remains, and it was determined that the remains were human, male, and in the correct height and age range for Mr. Prins. Subsequent forensic testing was done that determined that they, in fact, are the remains of Mr. Prins.
Jeff Larson
Sanborn County State’s Attorney”
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