Vehicle and human remains found in Florida pond linked to Sandra Lemire, missing since 2012

Florida officials recovered a vehicle containing human remains from a pond off the highway near Disney. The red van was linked to a missing person case from more than 13 years ago, officials said.

The Orlando Police Department said it received a report of a vehicle submerged in the body of water on World Drive from a volunteer civilian dive group. Along with Osceola Sheriff's Department and the Orange County Sheriff's Department dive team, officials helped recover the vehicle and found human remains inside, officials said.

OPD said Florida Highway Patrol is overseeing the traffic crash investigation. FHP did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's request for information.

OPD confirmed Tuesday the car was involved in the missing person case of Sandra Lemire. According to an earlier Facebook post by OPD, Sandra went missing on May 8, 2012 after going on an online date. She was last seen leaving a Kissimmee restaurant in a red mini van.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is working to identify the remains found in the car. The district medical examiner's office said the identification, the cause and manner of death have not been determined at this time. OPD said more information will be released as it becomes available.

More:Miami police begin pulling cars submerged from a Doral lake. Here's what they found so far.

Volunteer dive team searched 63 bodies of water for Lemire

Linking the submerged van to Lemire's case was no surprise to Sunshine State Sonar, the dive group that located the van. According to the non-profit's website, its mission is to locate missing vehicles, boats or people free of charge.

In a Facebook post, the organization said their team had searched 63 bodies of waters since July 2022 looking for this van.

The group said it received new information from the detectives last week that led it to that pond, where sonar revealed what looked like a vehicle under 14 feet of water. Upon diving, they confirmed the license plate belonged to the van Lemire was last seen driving.

"Our hearts go out to her family who supported us along the way we are saddened at the circumstances, but glad we could assist in bringing her home," the post states.

Lemire's son expressed gratitude to Sunshine State Sonar and diver Mike Sullivan in an interview with local station WESH 2.

“What he did was amazing. And without him and his team, none of this would have been possible,” Timothy Lemire Jr. told WESH 2. “They didn’t ask for a dollar. That's just the kindness of their heart.”