Cold Cases and Missing Persons

The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office says human remains and a submerged red 1996 Plymouth Neon recovered from the Intracoastal Waterway near Palm Coast are believed to belong to 41‑year‑old Mary Lou Combs, a mother of three who vanished on Aug. 19, 2003. After years of fruitless searches, a volunteer dive team spotted what appeared to be a matching bumper in October 2025, leading to a multi‑day February 2026 recovery effort with the FBI’s Underwater Search and Evidence Response Team that found the upside‑down car buried in 14–17 feet of water and muck. Investigators recovered Combs’ Florida driver’s license, clothing, children’s toys, a child seat, a size‑7 shoe consistent with her size, and a bone containing a metal plate thought to match a prior ankle reconstruction; serial numbers and DNA testing are underway to confirm identity and cause of death. Sheriff Rick Staly said evidence so far points to an accidental drive into the waterway and drowning, countering long‑standing local rumors that she died at a party and was secretly disposed of, and expressed hope the findings will finally allow Combs’ family to lay her to rest. The case underscores how sonar and volunteer dive teams are increasingly helping U.S. law enforcement close decades‑old missing‑person cases tied to submerged vehicles.