FOX
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A wealthy New York couple vanished without a trace in Georgia 44 years ago,
but it appears it took a pair of volunteer divers just seven minutes to
discover what are likely their car and remains submerged in a murky pond near
a hotel they had been staying in.
Retired oil executive Charles Romer, 73, and his wife Catherine, 75,
disappeared with their 1978 Lincoln in the spring of 1980. The Scarsdale, New
York, couple were returning home from Miami Beach, Florida, and checked into
a Holiday Inn in Brunswick.
Hotel employees were concerned that their bed had not been slept in and
reported them missing. Fears were raised that the couple, known to carry
expensive jewelry, had been victims of foul play and robbed.
The hotel is situated next to a pond which, diver Mike Sullivan tells Fox
News Digital, had been searched many times before, but terrible visibility
had hitherto prevented searchers from making a breakthrough.
But the cold case suddenly heated up on Friday when Sullivan and his brother,
John Martin, searched the pond in their tiny 6-foot-long boat and their
specialized sonar equipment pinged a vehicle at the bottom of the pond.
Sullivan says he quickly dived to the bottom of the lake and pulled the nose
from a 1978 Lincoln. He says human remains and a spate of jewelry were also
found in the car.
"We got to the pond at about 10 a.m. in the morning and we found the car by
10:07 a.m., seven minutes later," Sullivan says.
The pair, who operate Sunshine State Sonar, a Florida-based volunteer search
and rescue organization, then called the police, who arrived on the scene.
The Glynn County Police Department and the Camden County Dive Team then tried
to pull the Lincoln from the water and in doing so, spun the car around and
ripped the axle off the car, video provided by Sullivan shows.
He says police then drained the pond to reveal the badly deteriorated car,
which he says they eventually removed.
"The vehicle is similar to the description of a vehicle that Charles and
Catherine Romer were believed to be driving when reported missing in April,
1980," Glynn County Police Department said in a statement. "At this time
there is no conclusion about the identity of the remains that were found."
Police did not say what happened to the car or the people found inside.