Jeremy Beau Sides, aka "Nug" from the YouTube channel Exploring with Nug,[2] is an American scuba diver and civilian crime investigator who investigates missing person cases and missing items. In 2021, he found the bodies of Erin Foster and Jeremy Bechtel, who had been missing for 21 years.
| Jeremy Sides | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| YouTube information | |||||||
| Channel | |||||||
| Years active | 2016–present | ||||||
| Subscribers | 550 thousand[1] | ||||||
| Total views | 72,5 million[1] | ||||||
| |||||||
Last updated: 25 June 2023 | |||||||
Personal life
editSides is from Acworth, Georgia.[2] He is married and a father of two children.[3]
Before diving full-time, Sides was a metal detectorist as a hobby, searching for American Civil War relics and other lost items around his hometown.[2]
Career
editAfter high school, Sides worked for the United States Navy, in aviation hydraulics. Later he worked in the automotive industry.[2][3]
Diving
editWhen Sides started a metal detectorist YouTube channel in 2016, friends at work gave him the nickname Nug, joking that he was looking for gold. It stuck, and he changed the name of his channel to Exploring with Nug as he started exploring more and doing less metal detecting.[2]
Sides chooses unsolved missing person cases via the Charley Project online missing persons database,[4] focusing on cases where drivers went missing near bodies of water.[5] [6]
Missing person cases
editIn October 2021, Sides assisted the Adventures with Purpose team while they found the truck owned by Thomas Thornton, a missing Vietnam War veteran from Tyler County, Texas. A body was found inside the truck, which police said was likely Thornton's.[7][5]
In November 2021, Sides found a car containing the body of Miriam Ruth Hemphill, who had been missing since July 2005.[8]
In December 2021, he found the car containing the bodies of two teenagers in the case of the disappearance of Erin Foster and Jeremy Bechtel.[9][5][10]
In January 2022, he and two other divers found the vehicle of murder victim Alan Livingston, who had been missing since 1983. The FBI removed the body with local police in October 2022.[11]
In February 2022, Sides assisted Adventures with Purpose while they found the car owned by Margaret Shupe Smith, who had been missing since April 2021.[12]
In December 2022, Sides and several other divers and dive teams found the vehicle of Jason Spencer who had been missing since November 2022.[13][14]
In April 2023, Recon Dive Recovery and Sunshine State Sonar found the vehicle of Robert Heikka who had been missing since 2020, Sides had searched for Heikka but had not located him. Sides made videos on YouTube crediting RDR & SSS for their work.[15][16] Later In April, Sunshine State Sonar and Recon Dive Recovery found the vehicle of Robert Helphrey who had been missing since 2006. Sides made YouTube videos crediting their finds as well as graciously hosting a GoFundMe fundraising campaign for his fellow Sonar Search Colleagues, raising just over $3500 to be split between the 2 Orgs.[17][18]
| Case | Name | Age | Missing | Found | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thomas Thornton[19] | 72 | March 24, 2021 | October 24, 2021 | Toledo Bend Reservoir, Shelby County, Texas[20] |
| 2 | Miriam Ruth Hemphill | 84 | July 21, 2005 | November 10, 2021 | Melton Hill Lake, Oak Ridge, Tennessee |
| 3 | Erin Foster | 18 | April 3, 2000 | December 1, 2021 | Calfkiller River, Sparta, Tennessee |
| Jeremy Bechtel | 17 | ||||
| 4 | Alan Livingston | 25 | April 1983 | January 2022 | Coosa River, Gadsden, Alabama |
| 5 | Margaret "Jan" Shupe Smith | 59 | April 2, 2021 | February 2, 2022 | Lakeland, Florida |
| 6 | Jason Spencer | 49 | November 9, 2022 | December 5, 2022 | Cumberland River, Clarksville, Tennessee |
References
edit- ^ a b "About Exploring with Nug". YouTube.
- ^ a b c d e Emerson, Bo. "Diving for YouTube views, solving cold cases, finding the disappeared". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. ISSN 1539-7459. Retrieved 2022-07-21.
- ^ a b Flynn, Sheila (2021-12-17). "The scuba-diving YouTuber who is solving some of America's toughest cold cases". The Independent. Retrieved 2022-07-21.
- ^ Vnuk, Helen (2021-12-31). "Within a few weeks, YouTuber Jeremy Sides solved two cold cases that baffled police for decades". Mamamia. Retrieved 2022-07-21.
- ^ a b c Holpuch, Amanda (2021-12-10). "Scuba-Diving YouTuber Finds Car Linked to Teens Missing Since 2000". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-07-21.
- ^ MARKS, A. The Scuba Sleuths of Youtube. Rolling Stone, [s. l.], n. 1363, p. 58–59, 2022. Disponível em: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f6h&AN=156477100&site=eds-live&scope=site . Acesso em: 21 jul. 2022.
- ^ Gibson, Raegan (October 25, 2021). "Body, submerged vehicle found by volunteer dive teams in case of missing Tyler County man". 12newsnow.com. Retrieved 2022-07-21.
- ^ Simlot, Vinay (November 11, 2021). "YouTuber finds car with human remains in Melton Hill Lake, linked to missing person case from 2005". wbir.com. Retrieved 2022-07-21.
- ^ Peiser, Jaclyn. "Two teens went missing 21 years ago. A scuba-diving YouTuber solved the cold case." Washington Post, 10 Dec. 2021, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A686196232/ITOF?u=wikipedia&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=e66d95f2. Accessed 21 July 2022.
- ^ Kellar, Liz. "After 20 years, Erin Foster and Jeremy Bechtel laid to rest after YouTube star finds car". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved 2022-07-21.
- ^ Purvis, Kyra; Turrentine, Caleb (27 October 2022). "Remains of person reported missing in 1983 found in Coosa River". WBMA. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
- ^ "SOLVED: Missing Woman Found After 10 months Underwater In Her Car!" – via www.youtube.com.
- ^ "Missing Jason Spencer of Clarksville, TN, reportedly found dead".
- ^ "SOLVED! Missing Man Found Underwater In River At Downtown Boat Ramp!" – via www.youtube.com.
- ^ "Car Found Underwater While Searching for Missing Florida Man!". YouTube.
- ^ "SunshineStateSonar".
- ^ "Robert Helphrey: Missing man's car with human remains dragged out of lake 16 years after he was last seen". MEAWW. 15 April 2023.
- ^ "FOUND! Robert Helphrey Found In Vehicle Deep Underwater In Local Pond!" – via www.youtube.com.
- ^ KTRE Digital Media Staff (October 25, 2021). "Body found at Huxley Bay believed to be veteran missing since March". KLTV. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
- ^ SOLVED: Vietnam Veteran (Thomas Thornton) Found 7-months after Crashing Car into Lake. Adventures with Purpose. December 24, 2021. Event occurs at 00:10:35. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
External links
edit- Exploring with Nug official YouTube account