Nearly 23 years after Palm Coast mother Mary Lou Combs vanished without a trace, Flagler County investigators say they have finally found what her family has been looking for all this time: her car, her belongings and, most likely, her remains resting at the bottom of the Intracoastal Waterway near The Hammock.
On Feb. 23, Sheriff Rick Staly stood alongside Combs’s relatives and federal agents to announce that human remains and vehicle parts believed to be tied to the missing 37-year-old had been pulled from a submerged car. Officials cautioned that formal identification still hinges on DNA testing, but the evidence inside the vehicle is strongly pointing to Combs. For a family that has lived with questions for two decades, the discovery is a painful kind of relief, the closest thing to closure a cold case can offer.
Recovery operation and evidence
The three-day recovery operation kicked off on Feb. 3 after a volunteer dive team located a bumper last October that matched Combs’s red 1996 Plymouth Neon. According to Action News Jax, the FBI Underwater Search and Evidence Response Team from Miami worked alongside the Jacksonville Evidence Response Team to carefully enter the fragile, upside-down car and suction its contents ashore so nothing was lost in the muck.
What investigators recovered
Divers and evidence technicians pulled out an array of items that read like a time capsule from 2003. Investigators found a Florida driver’s license in near-mint condition, a steering wheel stamped “Neon,” a manual window crank, a floor mat, red plastic pieces and a size 7 shoe consistent with Combs’s shoe size, according to WFTV.
Also inside the vehicle were children’s toys and a car seat, stark reminders that Combs was a young mother when she disappeared. An on-scene FBI forensic anthropologist confirmed that human remains were present, including a bone with a metal plate from an ankle reconstruction that detectives say matches Combs’s medical history.
Family reaction
For Combs’s daughter, Natasha Harper, the discovery closes a chapter that began when she was a child and never really stopped. “When I was a little girl, my mother was my best friend and my everything,” Harper told FlaglerLive as relatives gathered at the sheriff’s operations center.
Family members publicly thanked the volunteer dive teams and detectives who refused to let the case fade into the background. They said the recovery finally gives them a chance to mourn properly and to lay Combs to rest instead of living in limbo.
How the case reopened
Combs was last seen on Aug. 19, 2003. A formal missing-person report was not filed until Oct. 9, 2003, after relatives realized she had never picked up a final paycheck, according to authorities. The case went cold and stayed that way for years.
It began to thaw in October 2024 when volunteers discovered a bumper consistent with her vehicle in the Intracoastal. That find set off a new round of searches, ultimately leading to the February recovery effort and a renewed push on the once-dormant file, as reported by News4Jax.
Investigation status and next steps
The human remains are now with the medical examiner, who will determine cause of death. Samples will be sent to a lab for DNA comparison to confirm identity, officials said. Investigators are also looking to match serial numbers from the recovered medical hardware with Combs’s known medical records, according to Action News Jax.
Why the location matters
Detectives believe Combs likely drove off what was once a dirt boat ramp at the end of 18th Road. From there, currents are thought to have carried the car north toward Hernandez Avenue before it settled and became buried in thick mud, according to investigators. At the time of her disappearance, the area was more rural, and officials note that the old ramp has since been blocked off.
Volunteer companies Recon Dive & Recovery and Helo & Sub were key to zeroing in on the hidden vehicle, the Palm Coast Observer reported.
The investigation is still active, and the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office is asking anyone with information to call its tip line at 386-313-4911 or email tips as outlined by officials. For more details on the recovery effort and extended statements from Combs’s family, visit FlaglerLive.
