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Found After 22 Years: Mary Lou Combs

A solved missing person case involving Mary Lou Combs from Palm Coast, Florida, Aug 19, 2003. It was resolved on Jun 25, 2026.

Who
Mary Lou Combs, 41
When
Where
Palm Coast, FloridaFlagler County
Investigating
Flagler County Sheriff's Office

The case

Our summary of the public record. The small numbers show where each fact comes from.

Mary Lou Combs, a 41-year-old mother of three, was last seen on August 19, 2003, leaving the Palm Coast home she shared at times with her mother and her children. Her family grew worried when she missed her daughter's birthday party, and later learned she had never picked up her paycheck from the Food Lion in Flagler Beach where she had worked. FCSO opened a missing-person investigation on October 9, 2003. Over the years tips led to air and water searches, but nothing was found.

In February 2024 a volunteer dive team began working with the FCSO Cold Case Unit to look for her car, a red 1996 Plymouth Neon. In October 2025 the divers found a bumper matching that make, model and color in the Intracoastal Waterway near 18th Road in Palm Coast. The car lay upside down in 14 to 17 feet of water, partly buried in muck, so FCSO asked the FBI's Underwater Search and Evidence Response Team (Miami) and the FBI Jacksonville Evidence Response Team for help.

A three-day recovery began February 3, 2026, which was National Missing Persons Day. Divers recovered parts of the car, her Florida driver's license, belongings, children's toys and a child seat, along with human remains. One recovered bone carried a metal plate consistent with an earlier ankle surgery. On June 25, 2026, FCSO announced that DNA testing by FDLE and the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification had confirmed the remains were hers, through comparison with DNA from her son and two siblings.

Timeline

  1. Combs is last seen leaving her Palm Coast home.1

  2. FCSO begins investigating after a family member reports her missing.1

  3. Sheriff Rick Staly creates the FCSO Cold Case Unit.1

  4. A volunteer dive team begins searching for her car with the Cold Case Unit.1

  5. Divers find a bumper matching her red 1996 Plymouth Neon in the Intracoastal Waterway near 18th Road.1

  6. FBI and FCSO teams begin a three-day recovery of the submerged car.1

  7. FCSO announces the recovery at a livestreamed press conference.13

  8. FCSO announces DNA confirmation that the remains are Mary Lou Combs.2

Key facts

Each one checked against a source.

  • The car was found upside down in 14 to 17 feet of water, partly buried in muck.1
  • DNA testing by FDLE and the UNT Center for Human Identification matched the remains to her son and two siblings.2
  • In February 2026, FCSO said current evidence indicated it may have been a tragic accident in which she drove into the Intracoastal Waterway and likely drowned.1
  • As of FCSO's June 25, 2026 release, no medical examiner cause or manner of death had been announced; in February the remains were with the District 23 Medical Examiner for that determination.12
  • Volunteers from Recon Dive Recovery and Helo & Sub worked alongside FCSO, the FBI and FWC.1

Open questions

  1. What will the medical examiner's final findings say about how she died?

Why it stands out

She was found more than 22 years later, still in her car underwater just off Palm Coast. A volunteer dive team spotted a bumper, and FBI underwater evidence divers and FCSO pulled the wreck up from the muck.

Photos and video

Official releases, public-domain and openly licensed files, credited. Tap a photo to see it larger.

Mary Lou Combs, photo released by the Flagler County Sheriff's Office
Mary Lou Combs, photo released by the Flagler County Sheriff's OfficeFlagler County Sheriff's Office · Official release

Sources

Everything in this file comes from these. News coverage is linked, never copied.

Official records

  1. 1Search for Missing Palm Coast Woman More Than 22 Years After Her Mysterious Disappearance Uncovers Vehicle, Bones and Additional Evidence (Release #2026-044)Flagler County Sheriff's Office, Feb 23, 2026
  2. 2Cold Case Closed: Remains Confirmed by FDLE as Palm Coast Woman Who Went Missing in 2003 (Release #2026-137)Flagler County Sheriff's Office, Jun 25, 2026
  3. 3LIVE Press Conference | Cold Case UpdateFlagler County Sheriff's Office (YouTube), Feb 23, 2026

News coverage

  1. 4FBI finds human remains believed to be Palm Coast woman missing since 2003Action News Jax, Feb 24, 2026
  2. 5DNA confirms identity of Mary Lou Combs, missing since 2003WFTV Channel 9, Jun 25, 2026

Related files

Same county, same state or the same kind of case.

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