Bombshell update in mysterious case of Florida missing mom and child who vanished five decades ago
- READ MORE: Nearly 30-year-old cold case solved
The remains found in a submerged car by a volunteer sonar team this week are believed to be a missing Florida mother and her daughter who vanished 50 years ago.
Doris Wurst, 34, and her three-year-old daughter, Caren, were last seen traveling in a red 1961 Chevrolet Impala in November 1974 before vanishing without a trace. The mother and child lived in the since-shuttered Sunshine City Trailer Park on Northwest 2nd Street in Plantation.
Plantation police investigated the case for years, but in 1975, the case went cold. For four decades, investigators continued to look for leads but to no avail until Sunday when a vehicle was found in a submerged canal.
Sunshine State Sonar, a nonprofit that uses technology to locate vehicles, boats or missing persons, pulled the wrecked car out of the water on Saturday before calling police.
Although their identification has not been officially confirmed - their dental records and DNA are still being verified- Plantation police said family members have been contacted in the likelihood that it is them.
Doris Wurst, 34, she would have been 83 if she were alive
Her daughter Caren, who was 3 when she went missing, would have been 52
The vehicle pulled from the canal on Sunday was believed to be Doris' 1961 Chevrolet Impala
The investigation was a joint operation with Sunshine State Sonar, Plantation Police and the Broward Sheriff Office Forensic Dive Team.
In June 2023, the teams ramped up their search to find the missing mom and daughter in hopes of closing the case.
Plantation Police Department detectives, along with the Broward Sheriff's Office Forensic Dive Team, confirmed the vehicle's identity, Newsweek reported.
The vehicle that was pulled from West Broward Boulevard was approximately five miles away from Wurst's mobile home, officials said.
NBC6 Miami reported that finding the vehicle and recognizing there were the remains of a child inside was very 'emotional' for the team at Sunshine State Sonar who has been working on the case for the last year.
'We had no doubt, 100 percent at the time, who we had just found,' Michael Sullivan, founder of Sunshine State Solar, told the news outlet.
'The vehicle was so brittle that as soon as we touched it my finger went right through the metal door.'
Some of the contents found in the wreckage were toys, shoes and clothes wer e laid on a blanket. A trumpet was also found and what appeared to be an aluminum baking pan
The Fisher Price today that has been completely destroyed
The car was pulled from a canal that was reportedly five miles from their home
Some of the contents found in the wreckage were toys, shoes and clothes.
The discovery of the Fischer Price toy and the car's headlights were the two items that prompted Sullivan to alert police.
'There was a hole in the roof on the vehicle and as I got right above the top of the vehicle I shined my flashlight in that hole and I saw what I didn't know what it was at the time, it looked like a purse or little briefcase,' he said.
'I grabbed it and when I got it up to the surface and saw what it was – it was a Fisher Price kids toy.
'Me and my brother just looked at each other and it was a pretty emotional moment because, to us, it was Caren, it was Caren saying, 'I'm here, you got me.'"
