Authorities in Florida claim to have discovered the body of a young girl who had been missing for 20 years, buried beneath the caravan where she was slain.
At a press conference on Thursday, Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood stated, “Certainly she can be buried with dignity now.”
According to Chitwood, detectives never gave up on finding Ormond Beach resident Autumn Lane McClure, who vanished in May 2004 at the age of 16. In 2021, they found a person that intrigued them after collecting DNA samples from the members of her family, re-interviewing her associates, and maybe interviewing witnesses throughout time.
Authorities suspect the man of interest killed the child in a caravan at Ormond Beach and buried her beneath it, according to fresh information that has surfaced since the man’s death two years ago, according to Chitwood.
Officials at the University of Florida Naples Centre for Forensic Medicine discovered denser areas beneath the surface of Autumn’s body using ground penetrating radar. After excavating “99.9%” of her bones, they are being sent for identity verification.
Two decades of mystery in Florida
In May 2004, Autumn’s grandmother reported her missing to the sheriff’s office. Florida Police department discovered she was living with a 31-year-old boyfriend of a woman she knew from her grocery store job and acquaintance.
A couple reported a young girl’s issues with her grandmother to investigators, but they were unaware of the girl’s murder and interment. In 2021, an informant claimed the couple was responsible for the disappearance of a girl in Volusia County, Florida.
Detectives granted immunity to a woman who reported that her boyfriend, Autumn, had stayed with the couple. She witnessed Autumn being choked and died before she could intervene. Sheriffs claimed she was given multiple versions of Autumn’s actions, leading to her death.
Donley threatened to kill the woman if she told anyone about the discovery of a modular home and driveway on the trailer’s former location. The woman reported that Autumn’s body was buried there last year. Investigators obtained warrants, worked with the new homeowner, and removed the home to conduct the search.
Chitwood added that throughout the years, Donley had managed to intimidate many into remaining silent.
Chitwood declared, “He’ll ever suffer (repercussions) in this lifetime for the wickedness that he perpetrated.”
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