Missing Florida woman Sandra Lemire's family finally discovered her remains over the weekend, ending an agonizing wait of almost 12 long years.
According to her family, Sandra Lemire's family discovered her body inside a minivan submerged in a retention pond off an interstate highway, as per CBS News.
Missing Florida Woman's Remains Found in Pond
Sunshine State Sonar, a volunteer-based search and recovery team that specializes in sonar and underwater technology, helped with the discovery. Tim Lemire, Jr., Sandra's son, expressed gratitude to the team, saying that he was still processing the life-changing news.
Sandra Lemire, a mother-of-three, was 47 when she went missing in May 2012 after going on a date with a man she had met online. Despite the investigators ruling out the man as a suspect, the case eventually went cold.
Last Sunday, divers from Sunshine State Sonar discovered the missing woman's red minivan, located in a retention pond at the Walt Disney World exit on Interstate 4. They found her remains and some of her personal belongings in the back of the vehicle.
Tim Lemire, Jr., was a teenager when his mother vanished, and the boy's father, Sandra's ex-husband Timothy Lemire, shared how his son endured immense hardship throughout this tragedy. Speaking to WSVN News, Lemire said that the boy went through hell over this. On May 8, 2012, Sandra left her grandmother's home near John Young Parkway in Orlando, Florida, driving her red minivan.
Mike Sullivan, one of the divers who helped find Sandra's remains, said that for the past year and a half, he and his team had been actively searching for the missing mother. He admitted that he was the least optimistic about this case compared to the other cases he was pursuing.
Two weeks ago, Sullivan received new information from detectives at the Orlando Police Department about the location of Sandra's last known cell phone activity before losing contact. Drawing up a map that covered new search areas, the team finally zeroed in on a retention pond along State Road 417 and Interstate 4 near Disney's World Drive.
It was there that Sullivan spotted the missing woman's red minivan with the Florida license plate number J36-8ZE. Recalling the moment of discovery, Sullivan said he was hyperventilating, feeling stressed out as he donned his dive gear, including a wetsuit, and plunged into the pond. Once he verified the discovery, Sullivan made a video call to Sandra's son, Tim, to share the news of the breakthrough in his mother's cold case, according to Daily Mail.
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Sandra Lemire's Tragic Accident Under Investigation
Authorities are currently investigating the cause and manner of Sandra's death, which they believe resulted from a car accident. The Florida Highway Patrol is currently investigating her death. The Orlando Police Department, Florida Highway Patrol, Orange County Sheriff's Office, and Osceola County Sheriff's Office assisted Sullivan's team in retrieving the vehicle from the murky waters.
Sullivan's team shared a statement on social media, highlighting their discovery of the submerged minivan and expressing their belief that they had finally found Sandra Lemire.
Tim Lemire, Jr., shared the news of his mother's discovery on social media just hours before New Year's Eve arrived. He posted pictures and shared that Sandra had been submerged for 12 long years.
He wrote that they found her bones in the back of the van and added that his mother would be coming home soon. Tim thanked Mike at Sunshine State Sonar for his tireless dedication to bringing closure to his family and recognizing him as the driving force behind this breakthrough. Tim plans on donating to Mike's page, stating that Mike is a true hero and an angel.
Meanwhile, the divers from Sunshine State Sonar believed that they had discovered the remains of Sandra Lemire while diving in a small retention pond near the Disney World exit on Interstate 4 in Kissimmee, Florida. She had disappeared in May 2012, and the group had been searching for her in 63 bodies of water over the past year and a half.
In a statement on social media, they said that a tip from an Orlando Police Department detective about the location of a cellphone tower that last received a call from Lemire's phone helped them narrow the search to the retention pond. Their team confirmed the discovery of a minivan submerged in 14 feet of water, and promptly suited up and dove on the vehicle to confirm the license plate, Independent reported.
