The discovery of a car and human remains in a Brunswick retention pond may have just brought a 44-year-old cold case to a close.
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<
[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]
Divers from the Sunshine State Sonar Team found a Lincoln Continental, the same car investigators believe Charles and Catherine Romer had been driving when they went missing in 1980.
Action News Jax Shanila Kabir spent the day at the scene where residents said this case had the Brunswick community rattled for years.
The retention pond is along New Jesup Highway right outside the hotel where the Romers were last seen 44 years ago.
Brunswick resident Barry Fahs said he saw the construction equipment pull out what was left in the pond.
“A rear end of a car, the car was tearing apart. The police officer said there were two deceased bodies in the car,” said Fahs.
The couple was reported to be snowbirds driving from Miami to New York and made a stop in Brunswick, Georgia where they vanished.
“The man was a hard-working man, and he had a good life for himself. I hope the family can have closure,” said Fahs.
Andy Mavromat said he worked the front desk at the hotel where the couple checked in and never left.
“He was in the oil industry; he was worth a bunch of money. When I worked at Holiday Inn, it was the big thing, and we never knew happened to them. We figured with all the money they had, someone followed them and robbed them,” said Mavromat.
He said locals believed for years the wealthy couple had been robbed and killed. But now given Saturday’s discovery, he suspects the couple may have lost control of their car and drove into the pond.
“None of these fences were here and they could’ve run into the pond. They could have. The way you see this now, it was very different 44 years ago,” said Mavromat.
Action News Jax reached out to the Glynn County Police Department for comment, and they said the diving team received a tip about a possible car in the retention pond. We did reach out to the Sunshine State Sonar Team for details on that tip, we are waiting to hear back.
[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
