Investigators in Florida have unearthed what is believed to be the body of a 16-year-old girl who disappeared nearly 20 years ago.
Human remains, tentatively identified as Autumn Lane McClure’s, were exhumed Wednesday at Shady Oaks Trailer Home Park in Ormond Beach. This was announced by the Volusia Sheriff’s Office..
McClure was reported missing on May 10, 2004 by her grandmother.
Early in the search, the girl’s grandmother received letters and phone calls from McClure hinting that he would return home when she turned 18, but she was never seen again, officials said.
“There is never a ‘cold case,'” Sheriff Mike Chitwood said during a Thursday media conference.
“The men and women in our major incident unit and all of our investigative units understand that.”
Formal identification is pending, but McClure’s family has been notified of the discovery, the release said.
“Although it was not the outcome that anyone had hoped for in 2004 or beyond, we are very proud of the work that went into this discovery 20 years later.” Chitwood wrote to X.
“At least we can say we have never given up on Autumn McClure’s case. Our prayers and condolences go out to her family tonight,” it added.
Initial investigations into McClure’s disappearance suggested she was staying with Jessica Freeman, a co-worker from a nearby Winn-Dixie. Daytona Beach News Journal reported.
The woman, whose name has not been released, and her boyfriend, Brian Christopher Donley Jr., were living in a Shady Oaks mobile home park at the time.
The couple told investigators that the boy was with them for a short time, but they didn’t know where he went after that.
In 2018, Freeman again denied knowing anything about what happened to Autumn.
But in 2021, a tipster contacted authorities claiming that Donley and his girlfriend were involved in the death of a Volusia County teenage girl.
After obtaining additional evidence to support the charges, detectives re-interrogated Freeman, who, after receiving a letter of immunity, admitted that Donley had killed McClure in the trailer.
The mobile home site had changed hands over the years, but detectives were able to arrange for the trailer and concrete to be removed for excavation.
With the help of a team from the University of Florida Maples Forensic Science Center, investigators used ground-penetrating radar to direct the excavation and ultimately discovered 99% complete human remains, the sheriff’s office said. .
Donley died in 2022 at the age of 49, and murder charges cannot be filed, Chitwood said.
“I hope to God that when he took his last breath on May 26, 2022, he had a vision of where he was going,” he said of the deceased suspect. Ta.
Dr. Lela Sutton of Maples Forensic Medicine Center added, “Cases like this are why we do this work. We are extremely grateful to have been able to assist in this case.” Ta.
