The body of a 20-year-old woman has been found in a Texas creek, a week after an Uber driver she went off-roading with committed suicide when police tried to question him.
The case has been shrouded in mystery since 20-year-old Amanda Stevenson of Victoria, Texas went missing on November 19. Two days later, her mother reported her missing, sparking a frantic search by law enforcement and community members.
On Tuesday, Steven's mother received the tragic news she feared: Her daughter's body was discovered in a creek about 16 miles from where she was last seen just over a week ago. Her cause of death has not been made public.
Police believed that former teacher, 45-year-old Kevin Bennetsen, an Uber driver, who was known to provide her rides, could be connected to Stevenson's disappearance.
Her family claims he was the last person to see her alive. Complicating the investigation is that detectives are still working to gain access to her password-protected phone, which police hope will shed some light on the case.
A map of the area around Victoria, Texas, showing how this tragedy unfolded
The case has been shrouded in mystery since Amanda Stevenson of Victoria, Texas went missing on November 19.
Stevenson's mother, Jennifer Blankenship Horsley, posted this photo on Facebook shortly after her daughter's body was discovered
Police believed that a local man, 45-year-old Kevin Bennetsen, an Uber driver and known to provide her rides, could be connected to Stevenson's disappearance
Police said the two were “muddling (all-terrain vehicles)” before she went missing.
Investigators conducted an initial interview with Bennetsen and on November 22, the day before Thanksgiving, pulled him over for a traffic stop to ask more questions about the case. Stevenson was supposed to celebrate her birthday on November 24.
But Bennetsen fatally shot himself during the stop, about a mile from a property he owned in the area, the Victoria Advocate reports.
According to the newspaper's report, officers contacted Bennetsen before he shot himself with a handgun. He was rushed to a local hospital, where he died.
Earlier that day, police had already begun searching his home and an area he often visited in Yoakum, about 56 miles north of where Stevenson was last seen.
Bennetsen was married with two children, and officials said his wife cooperated with authorities during the search.
He was still serving as a substitute teacher in the Victoria School District as of 2022, according to his LinkedIn page.
The father of two is also an Army and Air Force veteran, having served between 2005 and 2008. He also spent four years as a probation officer and worked in security for Target.
calls himself the owner of Bennetsen Organic Farms, located in Yoakum.
A candlelight vigil will be held for Amanda on Sunday in the park where Stephenson's body was found
As the family deals with the grief over the 20-year-old's death, police continue to investigate.
An autopsy has been ordered for Stevenson and Bennetsen's death is under investigation by Texas Rangers.
Announcing her death, Victoria Police Chief Jeff Young described efforts to locate Stevenson as “tireless.”
While she was in the middle of the search, her mother, Jennifer Blankenship Horsley, celebrated her birthday.
On Sunday, a Candlelight vigil for Amanda will be held in the park where her body was found.
“Not knowing is the worst,” Blankenship Horsley told the newspaper Victoria Lawyer earlier this month.
In the same interview, she called her daughter a “very sweet girl.”
'I'm just devastated. I want to take her home. Sometimes it doesn't feel real,” she added.
She then expressed her gratitude to those who assisted in the search.
'Know that from the bottom of my heart I am so grateful for everyone's help. I can't say that enough.'