Sanford police have identified a body found nearly 30 years ago as a missing Orlando man — and are now asking for the public’s help in learning more about how he may have been killed.
The skeletal remains of 37-year-old John Richard Moulis were found March 24, 1997, in a wooded area near the intersection of Fulton Street and Mangoustine Avenue by two people walking their dog. A medical examiner quickly ruled the death a homicide caused by sharp force injuries to the head.
The remains were unidentified until Aug. 31 of this year, when advances in DNA technology allowed investigators to identify the remains as Moulis, who had been reported missing in January 1997.
Sanford Police Chief Cecil Smith speaks during a press conference at the Sanford Police Department on Thursday, October 15, 2026. The press conference was held to reveal the name of the victim of a 1997 cold case homicide as John Richard Moulis. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)
However, investigators still know little about him. At a Thursday news conference, police urged the public to reach out to them with more information.
“We’re asking anybody that knew John … you worked with him … you lived with him … maybe you were known to socialize with him … even though you may have just a silly story with him that you don’t think has meaning, it has great meaning to our investigators,” said Bianca Gillett, a Sanford police spokesperson.
Moulis, originally from Wisconsin, had cerebral palsy and moved to Orlando in the mid-1980s, living at the Ridge Club Apartments near Oak Ridge. He worked in janitorial services at the now-closed Splendid China theme park in Kissimmee and may have possibly worked at Walt Disney World, Gillett said.
He was reported missing in Jan. 21, 1997, after his 1986 Dodge Aries station wagon was found abandoned at the Orlando Greyhound bus station on North John Young Parkway. His niece was the last person to see him alive on Jan. 5, 1997, when he visited her in California before flying back to Orlando.
Sanford police did not connect Moulis’ missing person case in Orange County to the skeletal remains until earlier this year, after which they contacted his family.
Gillett said there was nothing initially suspicious about the missing person case and no crime scene, only Moulis’ missing car. The missing person report was originally made by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, she added.
Sanford Police Communications Manager Bianca Gillett speaks during a press conference at the Sanford Police Department on Thursday, October 15, 2026. The press conference was held to reveal the name of the victim of a 1997 cold case homicide as John Richard Moulis. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)
As a result, Moulis’ family knew he had been missing for decades but never knew any remains had been found until contacted by investigators this year. A DNA sample from Moulis’ sister, who lived in Iowa, confirmed the remains were his. The sister died two days after the identification was made.
“She had wondered what happened to her brother her whole life, and so I know that is meaningful to the investigators that they were able to give that closure to her before she passed,” Gillett said.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement assisted with the investigation.