A Palm Coast woman who went missing over two decades ago appears to have been found, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office announced on Monday. Mary Lou Combs was last seen on August 19, 2003.
The breakthrough occurred in October 2025, when a dive team discovered a car with human remains in the Intracoastal Waterway near 18th Road in Palm Coast. Both the vehicle and remains closely matched the information available about Combs.
A voluntary dive team began searching for Combs in coordination with the FCSO’s Cold Case Unit in February 2024. Over a year later, they found a red 1996 Plymouth Neon Coupe underwater. With the car in highly deteriorated condition, assistance was called in from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Underwater Search and Evidence Response Team (USERT) Miami Office, along with the FBI Jacksonville Evidence Response Team (ERT) Jacksonville Office.
Gathering Evidence
Divers with the FBI reached the vehicle, which was upside down under 14 to 17 feet of water, the FCSO says. They entered through a broken driver’s side window. Inside, they used dredging equipment to clear out sediment and other debris which accumulated over the course of years.
Once they could get a better look inside the vehicle, divers found several clues that pointed toward it being Combs’. Items were recovered from the wreck, including a manual window crank, floor mat, and a steering wheel with ‘Neon’ written on it, matching Combs’ known car model. Additionally, divers found a size 7 shoe – matching with Combs – and a set of human remains.
Closing in on Closure
Eliminating virtually any uncertainty was the discovery of Combs’ driver’s license in the wreckage. A child seat and toys believed to belong to her were also found, as was a metal plate on a bone that matches an ankle reconstruction she was known to have undergone.
A series of analyses will be conducted to conclusively determine that the remains belong to Combs. FCSO detectives are awaiting confirmation on the origin of the metal plate, and whether its serial number matches her own. The medical examiner is currently in possession of the remains, investigating to determine a cause of death. The next step will be a DNA study to compare the remains to Combs.
“All the evidence gathered thus far suggests that the remains we have recovered are those of Mary Lou Comb,” said Flagler Sheriff Rick Staly. “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. Our detectives and partnering agencies worked tirelessly to bring this family answers so they have the opportunity to finally lay their loved one to rest.”
The Vanishing of Mary Lou Combs
On August 19, 2003, 41-year-old Mary Lou Combs was seen alive for the last time. She was leaving the home where she lived with her mother and her three children. It was reportedly not unusual for her to be gone for brief periods, and so her family only became concerned when she didn’t turn up for her daughter’s birthday some days later.
The family got in touch with the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, and an investigation was officially opened on October 9. The last straw for the family to reach out to detectives was when they learned Combs had not picked up her paycheck from the former Food Lion location in Flagler Beach where she worked.
Tips came in over the years, some of which gave detectives ideas of where to search for Combs’ body. Those searches happened, both from the air and the water. Unfortunately none of them brought closure, and the years continued to tick by. Sheriff Rick Staly created the FCSO Cold Case Unit in 2020, dedicating agency resources to long-unresolved mysteries of homicides, missing persons, and sexual assaults.
“I would like to acknowledge the men and women of the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office who have worked diligently on this recovery mission as well as the FBI, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, District 23 Medical Examiner’s Office, Ken Fleming from Recon Dive Recovery, and Vern Shurtz from Helo & Sub,” Staly added. “By working together, we were able to solve this case and provide some answers and peace to the Combs family after decades of uncertainty.”
