ORMOND BEACH, Fla. — Volusia Sheriff’s Office investigators say human remains recovered last week have been positively identified as those of Autumn McClure, reported missing nearly 20 years ago.
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Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood briefed the media last week on the investigative steps that led to the discovery at property on Hand Avenue in Ormond Beach.
This week, investigators with the Volusia Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene unit worked with a scientist from ANDE Rapid DNA to develop a genetic profile from DNA extracted from the bones recovered at the Hand Ave. burial site.
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That profile was compared to DNA taken from the missing teen’s family members, resulting in a match that allowed investigators to officially identify their Jane Doe as Autumn McClure.
McClure was 16 years old when she was reported missing from her grandmother’s Ormond Beach home on May 10, 2004.
The case went cold until 2016 when investigators who were still working the case received new information about where, and with whom, McClure was last seen.
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The man believed to be responsible for killing McClure and burying her body, Brian Donley, died during a medical procedure in May of 2022 at the age of 49, just as he was being developed as a person of interest in the case.
Deputies got a warrant to search the Hand Ave. property on Feb. 21 and began the excavation process the following Monday.
With help from Dr. Lerah Sutton from the University of Florida’s Center for Forensic Medicine and their ground-penetrating radar, investigators identified locations of interest under the property and were ultimately able to recover McClure’s remains.
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According to Sheriff Chitwood, they were able to recover “99.9 percent” of Autumn’s body.
Investigators say by using their in-house ANDE Rapid DNA technology rather than sending the sample to the state crime lab for analysis, they were able to significantly reduce the time it took to make an identification for McClure’s family.
According to the sheriff’s office, detectives are still trying to determine the exact cause of death, but said that could be difficult because the remains were entirely skeletal.
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