After nearly 12 years, we have found missing Orlando mother, Sandra Lemire.Photo:Orlando Police Department Facebook; Sunshine State Sonar
Orlando Police Department Facebook; Sunshine State Sonar
Sandra Lemire’s family is speaking out after a rescue group said her remains werefound in a retention pondnear Walt Disney World over a decade after she went missing.
Timothy Lemire Jr. toldNBC affiliate WESHthat he’s felt “a lot of mixed emotions” after volunteer dive groupSunshine State Sonarfound human remains inside her submerged car on Saturday.
“I’m happy she wasn’t murdered or kidnapped or anything like that because we’ve been thinking that for years," he said.
“I always thought this was a foul play case," Mike Sullivan, who started Sunshine State Sonar, told the outlet. “And it turned out to be just a bad, terrible car accident.”
According to theOrlando Police Department, Sandra went missing on May 8, 2012, after driving to Kissimmee to meet a man she met through an online dating service. Though she contacted her grandmother to say that she had arrived in the city, police said she “failed to call to let her know she was on her way back home.”
Police said that Sandra was last seen leaving a Kissimmee restaurant and driving her grandmother’s 2004 red Ford Freestyle before her disappearance.
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According toSunshine State Sonar’s Facebook post, detectives shared new information that led to their latest search on Saturday.
“At approximately 1:30 PM on December 30, 2023, we got a hit on sonar in a small retention pond at the Disney World exit on I4,” the group wrote. “We located what appeared to be a minivan submerged in 14 feet of water. Our team quickly suited up and dove on the vehicle to make the license plate confirmation.”
The vehicle was removed from a pond in Florida on Saturday.Sunshine State Sonar
Sunshine State Sonar
The Orlando Police Department confirmed with PEOPLE on Wednesday that “the red vehicle located in the water on World Drive is linked to the missing person case of Sandra Lemire.”
“Detectives have been in contact with the family,” a spokesperson added. “FDLE [Florida Department of Law Enforcement] is working on identifying the remains that were located in the vehicle.”
But now, after years of questions, Timothy is happy his family has closure, telling WESH that he was emotionally “destroyed” after first hearing the news.
Sandra Lemire.Sandra Lemire Facebook
Sandra Lemire Facebook
OnFacebookSunday, Timothy said he was “truly grateful” for the Sunshine State Sonar’s support after making “all this possible.”
“They put so much time and effort in this case.. we been talking for months now trying to figure out where to search.. and they finally found her Van,” he added.
He said it appears that his mother may have taken an exit ramp “a little too quick and went straight into the water.”
“What hurts the most is me thinking about if she suffered… or if she knew that she was trapped and couldn’t get out,” he added.
Police previously told PEOPLE that the Florida Highway Patrol is investigating the crash and waiting for the Medical Examiner’s Office to identify the remains. PEOPLE has reached out to the FHP for information.
source: people.com
