Remains of Orlando Woman Missing for Since 2012 Found in Retention Pond, Family Says

The remains of an Orlando mother who’s been missing since 2012 have been found in a retention pond, according to statements from her family. Sandra Lemire hasn’t been seen in almost twelve years, and though there’s no official ID, her family believes their years of wondering are finally over.

Lemire was out for a date with a man she met online on May 8th, 2012 at the time of her disappearance. She was set to meet him in Kissimmee, and had reportedly told her grandmother she’d arrived there safely. On that same phone call she promised to call when she was on her way home, but that next call never came. She was never seen alive again.

The last known whereabouts of Lemire were at a Denny’s in Kissimmee in her grandmother’s red Ford Freestar Minivan. A search began once it became clear she was missing, but in the decade-plus since then, nothing has been found. That was until July 2022, when a search kicked off of several bodies of water in the area. The Orlando Police Department worked with Sunshine State Sonar, an independent firm, to search 63 bodies of water over a 17-month span.

On December 30th, 2023 at 1:30 pm, the search team got a hit in an I-4 retention pond near Disney World. What appeared to be a minivan was located 14 feet underwater, and so a team of divers suited up to go investigate. The license plate on that minivan matched that of the one Lemire was driving, and it indeed had human remains within.

A law enforcement effort consisting of representatives from the Orlando Police Department, Orange County Sheriff’s Office, and Florida Highway Patrol worked to retrieve the minivan from the pond. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is working to confirm that the remains found in the van are Lemire’s, at which point her family can know with certainty what happened to Sandra. Her son told interviewers that he’s happy to know she wasn’t murdered or kidnapped.