The body of a Florida mother who disappeared more than a decade ago was found in a pond near Disney World on New Year's Eve, according to her family and a volunteer search team.
Sandra Lemire's body was found submerged in a pond on Interstate 4 near the Disney World exit in Kissimmee, Sunshine State sonar Post on Facebook On Sunday, photographs of the vehicle she was driving were also recovered.
The news brought a sense of closure to her grieving son, Timothy Lemire of Michigan.
“After years of not knowing what happened to my mom, my mom's van was found yesterday!” he posted on Facebook. “His Sunshine State sonar guys made this all possible… They brought closure to this long and mysterious case.”
But Timothy said he still feels the sadness of lingering unanswered questions.
“It appears she got on the exit ramp a little too early and ended up falling straight into the water,” he wrote. “The hardest part is thinking about what if she was in pain…or what if she knew she was trapped and couldn't get out.”
Sandra's son continued: “It kills me to think that she knew she would pass.” She said: “She doesn't know how to take it…I wish she could.” [have] I had a chance to say goodbye to her. ”
In a statement provided to the Post, Orlando Police confirmed that “a private volunteer diving group reported a vehicle submerged in the waters of World Drive.”
Authorities have not officially confirmed that the body is that of a long-missing woman and said the body was “unidentified.”
The Florida Highway Patrol is handling the crash investigation, authorities said.
Rescue groups say Sandra, 47, drove to Orlando in her grandmother's 2004 Ford Freestar minivan on May 8, 2012, to meet a man she had been communicating with through an online dating service. I left my grandmother's house.
She called her grandmother to tell her that she had arrived in Kissimmee and promised to call her again before returning home, but her grandmother never called and she never heard from anyone again.
Sandra was last seen driving her minivan out of a Denny's restaurant in Kissimmee.
Police determined that the man Sandra visited was not involved in her disappearance. WKMG reported at the time.
According to the paper, during the interview, the man claimed that he met Sandra at the McDonald's where he worked, but that they had since gone their separate ways.
Police told the network they believed his account.
Sandra's grandmother Pauline Varner told the program she was worried because her granddaughter was diabetic and didn't have insulin.
“It's very difficult just not knowing anything and that's not a good thing. I just hope she's okay,” Varner said. “She said she'd call me when she got down there, which she actually did. Then she said she'd call me when she was ready to go back, and I said, 'Okay, okay,' but that never happened. did not.”
It was unknown that Sandra, a mother of three, had disappeared for an extended period of time without telling her grandmother.
“It's different with her because when she goes to the store and I say I'll be back in an hour, she'll be back in an hour,” Varner said.
