A daughter who was just 13 years old when her mother vanished has finally found closure after human remains believed to belong to Mary Lou Combs were recovered from the Intracoastal Waterway in Palm Coast, Florida, ending a 22-year mystery that began in 2003.
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office announced the discovery following a painstaking three-day recovery operation that began on February 3, 2026—fittingly, National Missing Persons Day. FBI dive teams, working alongside local authorities, pulled a red 1996 Plymouth Neon Coupe from 14 to 17 feet of water, where it had sat upside down and partially buried in muck for more than two decades.
Inside the submerged vehicle, investigators found human remains, Combs’ driver’s license, a size 7 shoe matching her shoe size, children’s toys, and a bone with a metal plate known to have been used in an ankle reconstruction on Combs. The discovery occurred near 18th Road in Palm Coast, not far from where the 41-year-old mother of three was last seen alive on August 19, 2003.
“All the evidence gathered thus far suggests that the remains we have recovered are those of Mary Lou Combs,” Sheriff Rick Staly said during a news conference Monday.
Combs vanished after leaving the home she shared periodically with her mother and three children. Her family grew concerned when she failed to show up to her daughter’s birthday party days later. Though relatives told investigators Combs had a history of disappearing, not showing up to her children’s events was completely out of character. The family reported her missing on October 9, 2003, after learning she never collected her paycheck from her employer, a Food Lion in Flagler Beach.
For years, the case went cold despite tips about possible locations to search for her body and vehicle. Aerial and water searches turned up nothing, leaving Combs’ daughter Natasha Harper and her two brothers without answers through countless birthdays, holidays, and milestones.
The breakthrough came when Sheriff Staly created the Cold Case Unit in 2020, dedicated to investigating unsolved homicides, missing persons cases, and sexual assaults. In February 2024, a voluntary dive team coordinating with the unit offered to search for the missing vehicle. The teams, including Ken Fleming from Recon Dive Recovery and Vern Shurtz from Helo & Sub, swept the waters with sonar equipment in what one diver described as “finding a needle in a haystack in a field full of haystacks.”
The persistence paid off when divers located a bumper underwater in the Intracoastal Waterway in October 2025 that appeared to match the make, model, and color of Combs’ vehicle. The discovery set off an intricate recovery effort that brought together the FBI’s underwater search and evidence team from Miami, the FBI evidence response unit in Jacksonville, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and the District 23 Medical Examiner’s Office.
FBI divers accessed the vehicle through the shattered driver’s side window and used dredging tools to extract the contents, drawing items into a sluice basket positioned on the shore. Among the recovered items were children’s toys, clothing, a child seat, red plastic, a manual window crank, a floor mat, and a steering wheel with “Neon” written on it.
Harper, now 35, said the discovery brought her long‑awaited peace. According to her, her mother had been her best friend and her whole world when she disappeared. She expressed gratitude that the family can finally say goodbye, adding a wish that their mother rest in paradise.
Detectives now believe Combs’ death was a tragic accident. Current evidence indicates she accidentally drove her car into the Intracoastal Waterway and likely drowned. Rumors that circulated for years claiming Combs overdosed at a house party and someone disposed of her body have not been confirmed by the investigation.
The remains are currently with the medical examiner, who is conducting an investigation to determine the cause of death. DNA will be cross-referenced with DNA on file to confirm the identity. Detectives are also awaiting confirmation on where the medical devices from the metal plate were shipped and whether the serial numbers were registered to Combs.
Harper attended the news conference alongside her mother’s siblings, finally able to begin the process of laying their loved one to rest after more than two decades of uncertainty.
Anyone with information about this case or any other cold case is asked to contact the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office non-emergency line at 386-313-4911 or email tips@flaglersheriff.com. Tips can also be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 1-888-277-TIPS (8477).