KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Timothy Lemire told Eyewitness News the discovery of his mother was the closure he needed to start the new year. He said he will remember the smile his mother carried everywhere before she went missing on May 8, 2012.
“She always smiled. She loved life. She would do anything for anybody,” said Timothy Lemire, Sandra Lemire’s son.
Sunday, The Sunshine State Sonar team discovered Sandra Lemire’s 2004 red Ford Freestyle van with a Florida tag number J368ZE, submerged in a retention pond on the side of I-4 near the Disney World exit in Kissimmee.
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The team helps find people who disappear near bodies of water.
According to the dive team that discovered the vehicle, Lemire’s remains, and personal belongings were also in the van.
“When we found the van on sonar when it came on the screen. I think me and my brother both looked at each other and knew it was going to be her,” said Sullivan.
With nearly everything closed for the New Year holiday,
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President of Sunshine State Sonar, Mike Sullivan, said the team went to the pond on a spur-of-the-moment and searched for five hours through 15 bodies of water.
“Sandra is the sixth person we found in 2023,” said Sullivan.
Sullivan said the latest information from the Orlando Police Department pointed them to where they said Lemire’s cell phone last pinged at a nearby tower.
Sullivan said technology like the Life-scope Garmin Sonar Device helped use high-frequency sonar waves to detail a picture of what was below.
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“That’s raw footage of what that moment like when you make that confirmation you know that you have just found someone’s loved one and they’re coming home after a decade,” said Sullivan.
Orlando Police said the then 47-year-old was seen leaving her home on Windward Court in Orlando, then to a Denny’s before making her way to Kissimmee to meet a man she met online before crashing into the pond.
“I think so many of us believed that something bad had happened to Sandra with foul play,” said Sullivan.
After the discovery, several law enforcement agencies helped float the van to the surface with giant airbags before pulling the van out of the water.
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Since July 2022, a joint effort with detectives from OPD allowed them to search through 63 bodies of water over 17 months.
“He said, “Dude” I don’t know what it is, but I have a gut feeling we’re going to get some information today we’re going to find something out, and sure enough, they found her van on the sonar.
Lemire said they plan to cremate his mother’s remains and are waiting for the rest of her belongings so she can finally be home with her family.
“I am just so thankful for the team and them helping out the kindness of their hearts, bring closure to my family,” said Lemire.
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