Remains of Fla. mom and 3-year-old daughter found in canal 50 years after they went missing
08/14/2024 12:19 pm PDT
PLANTATION, Fla. (TCN) -- The 50-year-long search for a mother and her young child ended this week when officials discovered a car with human remains and other personal belongings at the bottom of a canal.
According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, 34-year-old Doris Wurst and her 3-year-old daughter, Caren Wurst, were last seen on Nov. 7, 1974, and had likely been traveling in a red 1961 Chevrolet Impala. They lived at the Sunshine City Trailer Park, which no longer exists. Plantation Police said the case went cold the next year and remained that way despite the investigation being reopened in 1977, 1988, 1992, 1994, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2017, and 2018.
Plantation Police worked with Sunshine State Sonar, a volunteer search and recovery team, in June 2023 to search for Doris and Caren Wurst. On Aug. 10, Sunshine State Sonar divers discovered a vehicle, which turned out to be a 1960s Chevy Impala, in a canal on West Broward Boulevard. Human remains consistent with an adult and child were also found in the vehicle.
Sunshine State Solar said in a news release that clues "point to a tragic motor vehicle accident into the canal."
Officials still need to positively identify the remains.
Sunshine State Solar shared several photos of their discovery, including ones of the car being lifted out of the water and personal effects from the vehicle. Items included clothing, shoes, a watch, saxophone, and toys. The car looked as if it was melted or burned in the front and back.
One of the divers, Michael Sullivan, told WTVJ-TV he found what "looked like a purse or little briefcase." When he got back up above water, he saw it was a child’s toy. He said, "Me and my brother just looked at each other and it was a pretty emotional moment because, to us, it was Caren. It was Caren saying, 'I’m here, you got me.'"
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