The car belonging to a Port Orange teacher missing since Oct. 25, 2020, was recovered with a body inside it from a canal Saturday afternoon near New Smyrna Beach, according to the Volusia Sheriff's Office.

Positive identification of the deceased occupant found in the car belonging to Robert Heikka hasn't yet been made, but Port Orange police are in contact with Heikka's family, according to a sheriff's office post made at about 8 p.m.

The 2012 Chevrolet Impala with a Florida tag of KRZ-I78 was found in a canal off Pioneer Trail near the South Tomoka Wildlife Management Area, less than 6 miles from Heikka's neighborhood.

The nonprofit Sunshine State Sonar Search Team and Recon Dive Recovery members located the car and confirmed the tag.

Heikka, a teacher at Creekside Middle School, was reported missing when he failed to show up for work on Oct. 26, 2020, and coworkers were unable to find him at his Waters Edge home in Port Orange.

Neighbors told Port Orange police they saw Heikka, then 70 years old, leaving his house the morning of Oct. 24, and bank records showed he made a normal transaction at an ATM in Brevard County.

That December, Port Orange police said they were receiving assistance in the search from other agencies including the FBI, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Volusia County Sheriff's Office, Daytona Beach police, and the Brevard County Sheriff's Office.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Missing teacher's car found in canal with body inside; ID not yet made