Amanda Stevenson of Victoria, Texas, went missing a few days before Thanksgiving, 2023, and was later found dead. Stevenson’s known acquaintance, Kevin Bennetsen, was questioned once regarding her disappearance. Now, authorities may never know if he played a part in her death.

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On Nov. 19, 2023, Stevenson had every reason to celebrate. She had Thanksgiving and her 20th birthday to look forward to. But a few days later, Stevenson’s mother, Jennifer Blankenship Horsley, reported her daughter missing. Horsley said she knew something was wrong when she texted her daughter and found Stevenson’s phone was turned off.

Early on, 45-year-old Kevin Bennetsen of Victoria, a ride-share driver with a known connection to Stevenson, was questioned regarding her disappearance. The local police said Bennetsen and Stevenson had gone “mudding” in all-terrain vehicles a short time before she disappeared, the Daily Mail reported.

Stevenson’s cell phone was later found, but it was locked. Authorities searched the Victoria area and the nearby town of Yoakum for days. Otherwise, Stevenson disappeared without a trace.

The Bennetsen-Stevenson connection

Kevin Bennetsen was a married father and ride-share driver in the Victoria area. Amanda Stevenson’s family believes she was with him when she vanished. Bennetsen was a veteran of the armed services, and he’d worked as a parole officer, in retail security, and as a substitute teacher in the local school district in the past, according to the Victoria Advocate.

After Bennetsen was questioned the first time, police sought to interrogate him again about Stevenson. They caught up with the ride-share driver at a traffic stop. Before Bennetsen could provide the police with any further information, he shot himself at the scene and later died, according to Victoria police.

Stevenson’s remains were found

Once Kevin Bennetsen died by suicide, police searched his property and other areas he was known to frequent in and around Yoakum and Victoria, but nothing was found. Eventually, Amanda Stevenson’s remains were recovered in a nearby creek, but as of this report, her cause of death was unclear. The Daily Mail reported there would be an autopsy to determine how she died.

With his death, Bennetsen’s involvement or any knowledge he may have had about what happened to Stevenson is unknown. In a statement, the Victoria Police Department said that dogs and drones were used to search Bennetsen’s properties with no results. The police department added, “The public should avoid speculating what may have happened, creating a false narrative.”

At the time of this writing, Bennetsen’s wife was cooperating with the police, and the authorities were still trying to access Stevenson’s phone, which could offer additional information about Stevenson’s whereabouts when she died or establish any possible connection Bennetsen may have had to her death.