Kayakers Find Body in Canal, Ending Decades-Old Mystery

Kayakers discovered human remains in a Florida canal, identified as Rose Marie Gayhart, who disappeared in 1985 at age 23. DNA tests solved the mystery after more than 40 years, and police opened a murder investigation.

Kayakers accidentally found human remains in a canal in northeast Cape Coral, Florida. DNA tests confirmed they belonged to Rose Marie Gayhart, a young woman from New York who disappeared in 1985 at age 23. The remains were found in May 2024, but only after a lengthy process and DNA comparison with family members was her identity confirmed. Following the discovery, Cape Coral police turned the missing person case into a murder investigation. Gayhart's parents reported her missing in March 1985; at the time, she lived in the Cape Coral area, worked at a local restaurant, and months earlier had moved to a trailer park with her boyfriend and his mother. Her sister, Lori Travis, said she never stopped searching: "I always asked myself – where are you?" Neighbors at the trailer park were sure she had been murdered, and spoke of severe fights and suspicion that she was pregnant and wanted to return to her family. Local police chief Anthony Sizemore stated: "For more than 40 years, the family lived without knowing what happened to her. This discovery provides answers, but mainly strengthens our desire to catch those responsible."