CAPE CORAL, Fla. (WBBH) – In 1985, Rose Gayhart vanished without a trace in Cape Coral, Florida. After tireless searching, her case went cold.
Crimestoppers reopened the case in 2013. At the time, officials thought there was a chance she was still alive.
“Last time they remember seeing her, she was kicked out of the trailer, and she was walking down the street with a suitcase,” said former special agent Matt Walsh in a 2013 interview.
But in 2024, a teenager found a human skull in a canal. Officials learned two months ago that those remains belonged to Gayhart.
Today, police continue searching for more evidence and remains in that same lot.
“It blows my mind that after 40 years they still have some sort of DNA evidence left,” said John Dortch.
The discovery made neighbors uneasy.
“Well, it doesn’t make me feel better ‘cause it is not solved yet, but I would definitely like to get this person behind bars,” said Ashley Larosa. “Get justice for her and her family.”
Cape Coral police say this is an open homicide investigation.
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