MIAMI.- A group of volunteer divers apparently found the remains of a woman inside a vehicle that had been submerged underwater for 12 years in a pond near Walt Disney World, Florida, a discovery that would solve a mysterious disappearance case.
According to the AP, Sunshine State Sonar divers said they believe they found Sandra Lemire’s remains this Saturday while diving in a small pond off Disney World on Interstate 4 in Kissimmee, Florida.
Lemire disappeared in May 2012. She was last seen leaving a restaurant in Kissimmee, Florida, driving the minivan that was found.
The group of divers had been searching for Lemire in 63 bodies of water for the past year and a half.
Last week, a tip from an Orlando Police Department detective alerted us to the location of a cell tower that received the last call from Lemire’s phone. That information helped them narrow the search area to the retention pond where the car was found, the group said in a statement on social media.
“We located what appeared to be a pickup truck submerged in 14 feet of water,” the statement said. “Our team quickly got dressed and dove into the vehicle to confirm the license plate.”
The victim’s son said it was the clothes he was wearing that day and that the cell phone and his wallet with identification were also found inside his bag in the truck. “She was the only one driving that vehicle that night.”
According to a Florida Highway Patrol report, the 2004 Ford Freestar pickup Lemire was riding in “for unknown reasons went off the road to the left and fell into a retention pond and became completely submerged in water.”
The discovery brings peace and comfort to the victim’s family, “I have mixed emotions about all of this. I’m happy she wasn’t murdered, kidnapped or even assaulted. Until now, we didn’t know what had happened to her,” said her son Timothy Lemire.
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