Carlton McCarthy Ireland was 54 years old when he vanished from Zephyrhills in the spring of 2007, and nearly two decades later, neither he nor his red 1997 Toyota Tercel has ever turned up. Now the Zephyrhills Police Department has reopened the search, hoping that time and shifting loyalties might finally shake loose the answers that have eluded investigators since Ireland's family reported him missing that November.
According to the Tampa Free Press, Ireland's last documented water bill payment was made on April 18, 2007, and he was seen pawning a ring at a Tampa shop on April 23, 2007 — the last confirmed sighting of him. Police Chief Derek Brewer said Ireland's family has lived with unanswered questions for far too long, and the department is now asking the public for new leads in a case that has gone cold for nearly two decades.
Family members did not go to police right away. Ireland had not been in contact with relatives since May 2007, and it was not until they visited his home in the 5000 block of Parker Street that they found the house undisturbed, with no personal items missing, but Ireland and his car gone, according to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System. The report was formally filed with Zephyrhills Police on November 3, 2007, months after he was last seen.
A Car That Has Never Surfaced
Ireland's vehicle, a red two-door 1997 Toyota Tercel CE bearing Florida plate J36ZVH, has never been located, per NamUs, which catalogs the case under ID #MP70461 alongside Zephyrhills Police Department case number 2007-6692 and an official last-contact date of May 1, 2007. Investigators and volunteers alike have treated the missing car as a central piece of the puzzle, since finding it could help explain what happened to Ireland himself.
That search has taken searchers underwater. Volunteer group Sunshine State Sonar has conducted targeted sonar operations in Hillsborough County waterways, including areas near MacDill Air Force Base, in 2022 and again in March 2024, specifically hunting for Ireland's Tercel, the Tampa Free Press reported. The effort has occasionally turned up the unexpected rather than the sought-after: during the 2022 search, sonar crews found two unrelated submerged vehicles, including a 1960s Dodge Coronet estimated to have been underwater for more than 40 years, according to a January video circulated on Facebook.
Ties to Jamaica, Tampa and the Track
Born in Jamaica, Ireland maintained personal ties there even while living in central Florida, and he regularly spent time in Tampa and Dade City, according to the Tampa Free Press. He was also known to visit local dog racing tracks. Zephyrhills investigators say they are seeking anyone who knew Ireland or interacted with him around April 2007, and the department has said it is prepared to take information from as far afield as Zephyrhills, Dade City, Tampa, Jamaica and local race tracks.
Because Ireland's financial trail led into Hillsborough County even though he lived in Pasco County, the case has required cooperation across jurisdictions, with agencies including the Tampa Police Department and the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Dive Team assisting Pasco authorities, according to Patch. Cross-county cases like this one often depend on shared intelligence and specialized dive resources that a single department cannot provide on its own.
Chief Says Silence May Finally Break
Chief Brewer said someone who was uncomfortable speaking in 2007 may be ready to come forward now, a hope that underpins the department's renewed appeal. Relationships change over nearly two decades, and police are banking on the possibility that old loyalties or fears that once kept a witness quiet have since faded.
Ireland's disappearance was not always a purely local story. It drew national attention in March 2011 when it was featured on CNN's broadcast segment “Faces of America's Missing,” an effort aimed at reaching witnesses who may have since moved out of state. Despite that exposure, the case went cold again for years.
One of Several Unsolved Pasco Cases
Ireland's file is not the only long-standing mystery in the area. Zephyrhills and East Pasco County have several unresolved missing-person cold cases, including U.S. Navy veteran Jeffrey Daniel Osborne, missing since August 1995, and Charles Bertram, missing since October 2002, according to Crime Solvers Central. The rural and suburban terrain across Pasco County has posed persistent challenges for searchers working these older cases.
Florida law requires police to act immediately once a missing person report is filed. Under Florida Statute § 937.021, agencies are barred from imposing any mandatory waiting period and must begin investigating right away, regardless of the missing adult's age or circumstances, according to the Florida Senate. The state also runs a centralized clearinghouse for these cases: the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's Missing Endangered Persons Information Clearinghouse, created under Florida Statute § 937.022, maintains a statewide repository and a 24-hour tip line at 1-888-FL-MISSING to help coordinate cases like Ireland's across county lines, per Uncovered.
How to Report a Tip
Zephyrhills police are specifically asking for any reports of sightings of Ireland's red Toyota Tercel, along with any details about his whereabouts after April 2007. Anyone with information can call the Zephyrhills Police Department tip line at 813-819-8847, or contact Crime Stoppers of Tampa Bay anonymously at 1-800-873-8477. Nearly two decades after Ireland vanished, investigators say even a small, previously withheld detail could finally move the case forward.
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