ORLANDO, FL – After 11 years of an unsolved missing persons case, a dive team in Florida claims to have located the body of Sandra Lemire, a woman who went missing in 2012. Sunshine State Sonar, the search team responsible, shared images and videos of a red van being retrieved from a pond near Disney World in Orlando.
According to authorities, Lemire was last seen leaving her grandmother’s home in Orlando and was en route to meet a man she had connected with online. Law enforcement reported that Lemire often met and dated individuals through internet platforms. She was last seen departing from a Kissimmee restaurant in her grandmother’s 2004 red Ford Freestyle van.
The 2004 Ford van was discovered in a body of water on World Drive, confirmed the Orlando Police. Osceola Sheriff’s deputies and the Orange County Sheriffs Dive team were involved in the incident response.
The Florida Highway Patrol has assumed responsibility for investigating how the van ended up submerged in the pond. Police are currently working on identifying the remains found inside the vehicle. When questioned about the possible connection to Sandra Lemire, authorities declined to provide any comments.
A preliminary report by the Florida Highway Patrol revealed that the Ford Freestar van veered off the roadway and entered the retention pond while traveling on the State Road 417 southbound exit ramp to World Drive. The specific cause and time of the crash are still under investigation.
The medical examiner’s office is expected to release further details once they positively identify the deceased individual, according to the police report.