PALM COAST, FL – Human remains believed to belong to a Florida mother who disappeared without a trace in 2003 have been recovered from a submerged vehicle in the Intracoastal Waterway, ending a 22-year mystery.
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office announced that divers recovered parts of a red 1996 Plymouth Neon containing human remains, clothing, children’s toys, a Florida driver’s license and other personal items believed to belong to Mary Lou Combs, a 41-year-old Palm Coast woman.
Combs was last seen on August 19, 2003, when she left a home she shared “periodically” with her mother and three children, according to the sheriff’s office. She never returned home and failed to appear at her daughter’s birthday party days later.
While Combs had a history of disappearing according to her family, missing her children’s events was completely out of character. She also never collected her final paycheck from her job at a local Food Lion grocery store.
For more than two decades, investigators pursued tips and searched multiple locations without finding evidence. The breakthrough came in October 2025 when a voluntary dive team discovered what appeared to be a bumper matching Combs’ missing vehicle in the Intracoastal Waterway near Palm Coast.
The vehicle was later found upside down, buried in 14 to 17 feet of water and muck. A multi-day recovery operation beginning February 3 involved the FBI’s Underwater Search and Evidence Response Team and other agencies using dredging equipment to recover the vehicle’s contents.
Among the items recovered were a steering wheel labeled “Neon,” a manual window crank, a floor mat, a size 7 shoe consistent with Combs’ shoe size, and children’s items including toys and a car seat. Investigators also found a bone containing a metal plate believed to match an ankle reconstruction surgery Combs had undergone before she disappeared.
Authorities are working to confirm whether serial numbers match Combs’ medical records. Sheriff Rick Staly said investigators believe current evidence suggests Combs may have accidentally driven into the Intracoastal Waterway and drowned more than two decades ago.
“All the evidence gathered thus far suggests that the remains we have recovered are those of Mary Lou Combs,” Staly said. “While this is not the outcome anyone hoped for, we knew locating Mary alive was extremely unlikely given the length of time she had been missing.”
While rumors had circulated for years that Combs may have died at a party and been disposed of, investigators say current evidence points to an accidental drowning. The remains have been sent to the medical examiner for DNA testing to confirm identity and determine cause of death.
